Franklin, Indiana, Man Sentenced to 172 Months in Prison for Transporting a Minor with Intent to Engage in Sexual Activity

URBANA, Ill. – A Franklin, Indiana, man, Dylan B. Clark, 20, of the 1500 block of South Highland Drive, has been sentenced to 172 months in prison, to be followed by ten years of supervised release, for transporting a minor across state lines, with intent to engage in sexual activity.

At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Clark, who was 19 years old, traveled from his home in Indiana into Illinois to pick up an 11-year-old girl, returning with her to his home, where he engaged in sexual conduct with the child.

During the hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Colin S. Bruce noted that the offense was “horrific,” and that Clark had irrevocably scarred a child through his actions.

Clark has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service since his arrest on September 2, 2022.  He pleaded guilty to the offense on September 8, 2023.

The statutory penalties for transporting a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity are a prison term of not less than 10 years and a term of supervised release of not less than five years.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of Illinois and elsewhere continues to fight to protect this nation’s children from sexual abusers. Through the hard work of specialized agents within the Federal Bureau of Investigation and close cooperation with local law enforcement agencies across Illinois and Indiana, justice was gained for the minor victim in this tragic case,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel E. Ritzer.

“A child’s vulnerability can easily be exploited by offenders like Clark. Even though this sentence reflects the magnitude of his criminal conduct, it cannot undo the impact suffered by an 11-year-old child,” said FBI Springfield Special Agent in Charge David Nanz. “The FBI is committed to ensuring that those intent on harming children will instead spend their days behind bars.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, Vermilion County (IL) Sheriff’s Department, and the Johnson County (IN) Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel E. Ritzer represented the government in the prosecution.

The case against Clark was investigated as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.