Ex-Marine admits child abduction
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An image of Studabaker captured by a CCTV camera at an airport.
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LONDON, England -- A former U.S. Marine has pleaded guilty to abduction and incitement to gross indecency involving a 12-year-old British girl who he met on the Internet.
Toby Studabaker, 32, from Constantine, Michigan, admitted the charges on Thursday when he appeared at Manchester Crown Court in northern England. He denied the charges at an earlier hearing.
The case was adjourned so psychiatric reports on Studabaker can be prepared ahead of sentencing.
The disappearance of Studabaker with the youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in July last year sparked an international manhunt and triggered concerns about the dangers of Internet chatrooms.
The ex-Marine was later arrested in Frankfurt and extradited to the UK. The girl was reunited with her parents in Britain.
Studabaker was discharged from the U.S. Marines in 2003 after serving for more than three years. He was a lance corporal based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
