A Sussex County man, Miles Clark, pleaded guilty on Apr. 30 to transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika accepted the plea.
Court documents show that Clark, age 22, transported a 12-year-old girl from a church near her home in Pennsylvania to his residence in Delaware where they engaged in sexual intercourse. The two met approximately one week earlier on Snapchat and their conversations quickly became sexual, with Clark describing sex acts he wanted to perform and sending videos of himself masturbating. Authorities say Clark was aware the victim was underage.
Clark faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison for his offense. Actual sentences for federal crimes are often less than the maximum allowed by law; sentencing is scheduled for August 27.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force with help from Delaware State Police Troop 4. Assistant U.S. Attorney Claudia L. Pare is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section that aims to combat child exploitation nationwide by coordinating resources across agencies to apprehend offenders and rescue victims.