Federal authorities have charged a Pennsylvania woman with using the Internet to lure a 14-year-old Wayne County girl into a sexual encounter.
Catherine L. Miller, 33, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., was placed into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and charged with traveling in interstate commerce to engage in sexual conduct. Federal charges were filed just hours after Wayne County State's Attorney Kevin Kakac charged Miller with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, with bond set at $250,000.
As Miller was preparing to post the required $25,000 cash bond to be released from pretrial custody at the Wayne County Jail, federal authorities issued a hold on the suspect and had her transported to the U.S. District Courthouse in Benton, Ill., where federal charges were filed.
The 14-year-old victim is said to have met Miller in an Internet chat room in September. Since then, the two corresponded frequently by cell phone, text messaging and e-mails.
Miller had been attending a college in Cincinnati, where she was studying counseling.
On Nov. 11, Miller is accused of sending a text message to the victim informing her she had reserved a motel room for the two in Flora, Ill., and would pick her up at a predetermined location.
Miller drove from Cincinnati to the predetermined location where the two met.
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Miller proposed marriage to the victim and presented her with a diamond ring," according to the complaint. "
She also gave the victim a baby bottle because the victim would then be her baby."
Sunday night, a relative became suspicious of Miller's presence in town and alerted police. Police arrested Miller at a motel in Flora.
Additional charges are likely and that the investigation remains open and ongoing.
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