KANSAS CITY, MO—Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Albuquerque, New Mexico, man pleaded guilty in federal court today to transporting a 13-year-old victim from Henry County, Mo., across state lines to engage in illicit sexual activity.

Raymond C. Vallia, III, 56, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to transporting a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity.

On March 29, 2015, deputies with Henry County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department responded to a Montrose, Mo., residence regarding the report of a missing 13-year-old female, identified in court documents as MV. During the course of the investigation law enforcement agents determined that MV met Vallia through a social networking Web site and that he had picked up MV at her home with the intent that they would live in an apartment in New Mexico.

New Mexico State Police saw a vehicle matching the description of Vallia’s vehicle on Interstate 40 in New Mexico on March 30, 2015. At that time the vehicle was pulled over, MV was recovered and Vallia was arrested.

MV told investigators that she and Vallia had sent nude images of themselves to each other and had sexually explicit conversations via Internet chat services. They intended to live together in his apartment; she planned to present Vallia as her father and to attend Cibola High School.

According to today’s plea agreement, Vallia picked up MV at her home at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 29, 2015. They drove to Amarillo, Texas, where they spent the night in a motel. Vallia and MV showered together and engaged in sexual activity. The next morning, after Vallia returned from a doctor’s appointment, they left the hotel and drove towards Vallia’s apartment in Albuquerque.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Vallia will be sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole, followed by a 10-year term of supervised release, and must pay restitution to his victim. Vallia will be required under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) to register as a sex offender and keep the registration current in each of the jurisdictions where he resides, is employed and is a student. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the FBI, the Henry County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the New Mexico State Police and the Amarillo, Texas, Police Department.