Michigan man pleads guilty of abducting, assaulting girl

A man from Michigan was charged with abduction and sexual assault of a 12-year-old English girl that he had met on the Internet. He has pleaded guilty to two federal charges in the case and faces five to 40 years in prison or a possible lifetime of supervised release.

Photo: Michigan man pleads guilty of abducting, assaulting girl

Toby Studabaker, an ex-U.S. Marine, entered his pleas on Nov. 20 in U.S. District Court. The charges are transporting a child across international borders for the purpose of sexual exploitation and possession of child pornography. Authorities say they discovered numerous images of child pornography on Studabaker's personal computer.

According to his U.S. indictment, Studabaker flew to Manchester, England, in July 2003 to meet the girl, then took her to Paris, where he sexually assaulted her. He was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany, on his way to surrender at the U.S. consulate, hours after the girl caught a flight to England from the German city of Stuttgart.

Studabaker was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison in 2004 after pleading guilty in England to child abduction and inciting a child to commit gross indecency. He was released from prison last June after serving a little more than three years behind bars and deported to the United States to face the federal charges.

A sentencing hearing had not yet been scheduled, according to a written statement issued by the U.S. attorney's office. Studabaker faces five to 40 years in prison, a possible lifetime of supervised release and fines totaling a maximum of $500,000 (Ђ336,813).