CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Charleston man has been indicted on charges that he allegedly had sex with a young girl that he met on the internet.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in northern West Virginia secured a four-count indictment this week against Mark Loring Dawson.
Dawson, 51, allegedly befriended the girl on the internet and then drove to Sardis, Ohio to pick her up. Federal prosecutors said he then took her to a hotel in New Martinsville in Wetzel County where the alleged acts occurred on two occasions between May 2012 and April 2013.
Dawson faces two counts each of Transportation with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity and Traveling in Interstate Commerce with the Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct.
He could face from 30 years to life in prison if convicted.