A registered sexual predator was back behind bars less than 12 hours after being released from state prison, after GPS monitoring data showed him walking more than six miles overnight toward the Palm Coast home where he had previously abused multiple children.
Gabriel Pardo, 45, was arrested Friday morning, June 19, 2026, and charged with violation of probation. He is being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility with no bond.
Released Thursday Night, Arrested Friday Morning
Pardo was released from a Florida state correctional facility and dropped off at a bus stop on State Road 100 in Flagler Beach at approximately 10:17 p.m. on Thursday, June 18. As a condition of his release, he was fitted with a GPS ankle monitor and required to report to the Florida Department of Corrections Probation and Parole Office in Bunnell at 8 a.m. the following morning.
Pardo did not report as required. Instead, his ankle monitor tracked him walking more than six miles from the bus stop through the night — heading toward the home where he had committed his prior crimes, roughly 10 miles away from the probation office in the opposite direction.
Early Friday morning, probation officers alerted Flagler County Sheriff’s Office detectives that Pardo had failed to report and that his GPS monitor placed him near the scene of his previous crimes. Major Case Detectives and the Real Time Crime Center worked with state probation officials to track his movements. Using the monitor data, detectives located Pardo walking on Old Kings Road and took him into custody.
What Pardo Told Detectives
When interviewed, Pardo initially denied going to the home. He then said he had walked toward the area only to get his bearings and claimed he did not know he was required to report to probation that morning. He also stated he had no intention of contacting his prior victims.
Detectives found no indication that Pardo entered the residence or made contact with anyone there. Detectives later confirmed that the victims no longer live at that address.
Background: An Eight-Year Prison Sentence for Child Abuse
Pardo is a registered sexual predator based on a 2018 case in which he repeatedly sexually abused two children in his care over several years and molested a third child during a sleepover. In 2019, he pleaded no contest and was found guilty of two counts of sexual battery by a custodian of a victim aged 12 to 18 and one count of sexual battery. He was sentenced to eight years in state prison, to be followed by 15 years of sex offender probation. Thursday night marked the very first night of that probation term.
Sheriff’s Statement
“This pervert, convicted rapist, pedophile, and predator, couldn’t even make it one night out of prison before he attempted to contact the victims he assaulted,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “He clearly didn’t learn anything in prison. Thanks to his ankle monitor and the fast work of our detectives and parole officers, his first day of freedom ended behind bars at the Green Roof Inn, which is exactly where this predator belongs for the rest of his life.”
