He faces life in prison after forcing teen to perform sex acts in Myrtle Beach
A 24-year-old man has pleaded guilty in federal court to trafficking a minor through multiple states for commercial sex before coming to Myrtle Beach, where he was arrested, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
A victim was transported from Iowa to Illinois, Tennessee and Georgia before being brought to Myrtle Beach around August 2018 by Mark Spicer, of Iowa, the release states. Spicer and a co-defendant placed advertisements for commercial sex featuring the minor on websites, authorities said.
Spicer was charged with one count of interstate transportation of an individual under the age of 18 for the purposes of prostitution.
Authorities said Spicer will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison.
According to Myrtle Beach police reports and warrants, Spicer, a co-defendant and a 16-year-old victim came to Myrtle Beach on Aug. 13, 2018, and were staying at the Budget Inn on Ocean Boulevard.
On Aug. 14, Spicer and the co-defendant took the victim on “an outcall” where sex acts were exchanged for money in the area of Mr. Joe White Avenue, authorities said.
The next day, Spicer and the co-defendant took the victim to Walmart on Seaboard Street for another call involving sex acts in exchange for money, an affidavit said.
Spicer, the co-defendant and the victim used the funds for food, gas and hotel expenses, authorities said. The victim said Spicer was aware that she was performing sex acts for money and that Spicer benefited from the funds received over the course of the trafficking, records show.
This story was originally published June 6, 2019 at 8:34 AM.
