Waldorf, MD (TCD) — A 67-year-old man will spend the rest of his life in prison for sexually assaulting a young girl he cared for hundreds of times.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced on April 3 that Charles Clark was sentenced to life in prison. He will also be subject to lifetime supervised release and must register as a sex offender. Clark pleaded guilty in federal court on October 11, 2022, to coercion and enticement of a minor.
Clark also pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse/persistent conduct of a minor and one count of sexual abuse of a minor in a related incident that occurred March 30, 2023, in Charles County, Maryland. On December 7, 2023, a judge sentenced Clark to 45 years in prison in the case.
Clark sexually assaulted and sexually assaulted children under the age of 17 for five years starting in June 2017. Prosecutors said Clark was a “father figure” to the girl and helped raise her. But according to the attorney's office, Clark sexually assaulted the victim between 170 and 200 times. Clark committed the crimes at the victim's home and at his residence in Maryland.
Clark and the girl reportedly communicated through Instagram messages and the Internet. Prosecutors say Clark coerced his victims into providing sexually explicit images of themselves starting in 2020 and did so at least twice.
The victim eventually told her mother about the repeated abuse, and her mother reported it to law enforcement.
Investigators used the girl's Instagram account to message Clark saying it was her, according to the attorney's office. Prosecutors said Clark admitted to sexually abusing the girl for years.
Clark said the victim gave him “the most precious thing a woman can give a man” and that was her “virginity” at the age of 13. According to the solicitor's office, police asked Clark if she was happy that he was her “first,” to which she responded, “I see…”
Authorities arrested Clark on April 2, 2021, and he has remained in custody since then.
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