GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A federal grand jury has indicted a former Marine accused of abducting a 12-year-old British girl he met on the Internet, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Toby T. Studabaker (search), 32, was charged with sexually exploiting a child in a foreign country and using the Internet to entice a child to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Studabaker, who is in the custody of British authorities on related charges, has said he did not have sex with the girl and that he believed she was 18.
The four-count indictment also charged Studabaker with transporting a child across international borders for the purpose of sexually exploiting the child, and traveling across international borders with the intent to sexually exploit a child.
Each charge carries up to 20 or 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Studabaker, of Constantine, Mich., allegedly traveled to France and Germany with a schoolgirl. He was extradited to Britain in August from Germany, where he was arrested July 16.
U.S. Attorney Margaret M. Chiara said she intends to initiate an extradition request.
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