US: A former United States marine who "groomed" a 12-year-old British girl on the Internet had sex with her in a Paris hotel, a court heard yesterday.Toby Studabaker (33) pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to child abduction and to inciting a child to commit gross indecency.
He was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register but will be sentenced on April 2nd.
The court heard that Studabaker flew to Paris with the girl after an arranged meeting at Manchester Airport on July 12th, 2003. The following night they drank vodka in the hotel before having sex in their room.
The court heard that a year earlier the pair had met on the Internet.
Ms Beverly Lunt, prosecuting, said Studabaker, who comes from Michigan, had "groomed" the girl "so that she would not object to the sexual activity that took place once they were out of the UK".
After the hearing, the girl's family, from Greater Manchester, said the ordeal last year had been "absolutely horrendous". They said they feared their experience was only "the tip of the iceberg" and called for changes to the law.
Two computers used by the victim and four machines which Studabaker had access to were recovered by police and the FBI.
Studabaker was arrested in Frankfurt in Germany on July 16th and was extradited to Britain in August.
He could now face extradition to the US where a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment against him in December 2003 on charges related to the sexual exploitation of a child.
It is not the first time Studabaker, a former Bible scholar who was decorated for his military service in Afghanistan, has faced allegations of a sexual nature.
In 1998 he was accused by a family member of groping his 12-year-old niece during a game of play wrestling. Later he was accused of giving bubble-gum flavoured sexual lubricant to a nine-year-old niece and suggesting she use it on him. In both cases no charges were brought.