Clifton Man, 20, Charged in Internet Sex Case Involving Girl, 13

A Clifton man pled "no contest" earlier this week in New London, Conn., Superior Court to charges of carrying on a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl from Colchester, Conn. who he first met online when he was 16 and the girl was 10, according to court records and news reports from Connecticut media.   

Christopher Carroll, 20, of Clifton, faces a maximum of 18 months in prison and 20 years of probation for the Class B felony charge, under a plea agreement reached between state prosecutors in Connecticut and his attorney, Michael Blanchard, who specializes in family law at New London law firm Suisman Shapiro.

Sentencing is set for April 28th at 10 a.m. While he awaits sentencing, Carroll is being held on $300,000 bond in Connecticut, according to the Connecticut Department of Corrections.

Carroll will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years, under terms of the plea agreement.

He was first arrested by Fairfax County Police on April 4, 2010 and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Police found him after they began searching for the 13-year old runaway, who was taken to the juvenile detention center. According to court records, Connecticut State Police arrested Carroll on May 17, 2010.

Colchester, Conn., police contacted Fairfax County Police after they became aware of the inappropriate relationship between the girl and Carroll. The girl's mother had contacted Colchester police.

Police said the two initially started chatting online and developed a relationship when in 2009 Carroll asked her out, police reports show. Connecticut prosecutor John Gravalec-Pannone said in news reports that the victim initially posed as a 16-year-old online, but later told Carroll her actual age. The two exchanged nude pictures of each other via telephone and had sexual conversations by text message, police said. The victim admitted to several prior meetings with Carroll, according to police.