Iowa Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Interstate Transportation of a Minor for Prostitution

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced that Mark Spicer, a/k/a Chief, age 24, of Iowa, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of interstate transportation of an individual under the age of eighteen for purposes of prostitution.  Spicer faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment up to life.  There is no parole in the federal system.  A sentencing hearing will be held at a later date.

Evidence presented to the court established that in or around August 2018, Spicer and a co-defendant transported the minor victim to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with the intent that the minor would engage in prostitution after leaving Iowa and having traveled to Illinois, Tennessee, and Georgia.  Spicer and a co-defendant placed advertisements for commercial sex featuring the minor victim on websites during this time period.      

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Myrtle Beach Police Department.   Assistant United States Attorneys Carrie Fisher Sherard and Lauren Hummel and Special Assistant United States Attorney Scott Hixson prosecuted the case.

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