A man accused in Maine of trying to rent a girl for sex was arrested in Maryland and now faces federal charges back in Maine.
Michael Berk, 28, of Brownfield was arrested Tuesday in Frederick County, Md., on a federal warrant and was awaiting a hearing before a federal magistrate in Baltimore, a spokesman for the Frederick County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday.
Berk was taken into custody after deputies responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle ran Berk's name through a criminal database and spotted the federal warrant, Sgt. Eric Byers said.
Berk was arrested in Maine on Aug. 28 after he exchanged e-mails with a Biddeford man who had posted a request for work on the Craigslist Web site.
The man said he needed work to support his four children, and Berk had responded by asking about the ages of the man's children.
The man was suspicious and said he had a daughter who was 12, even though his daughter is actually younger, police said at the time of Berk's arrest.
Berk offered to rent the girl for $300 a week for sex acts, according to police.
The father then reported the e-mail exchanges to police, who had an undercover state trooper wear recording equipment and arrange to meet Berk.
Police said Berk repeated the offer to the trooper and was arrested.
The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram is not identifying the father to avoid identifying the man's daughter.
Berk was charged with criminal solicitation, a felony. Maine will likely drop state charges against Berk because of the pending federal charges, said State Police Sgt. Glenn Lang, head of the Maine Computer Crimes Task Force.
An investigator with that task force recently met with federal officials about the case, and that led to the federal charge of enticing a minor, Lang said. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maine said she wasn't able to find information on the Berk case Wednesday.
Berk had been free on $1,000 bail. Lang said a provision of the bail required Berk to notify officials of any change of address, but it wasn't immediately clear whether Berk had moved to Maryland or was visiting, he said.
Berk had been scheduled for another appearance in York County Superior Court in December.
Byers said there were no charges filed against Berk in Maryland, but the case was still considered open.
Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:
emurphy@pressherald.com
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