Taylor Marcus Podkranic, 19, of Chelan, Wash., was indicted last week on a charge of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, a felony, according to court filings. The papers claim that during his relationship with the girl, Podkranic "tracked her ovulation" in an attempt to get her pregnant.
He was arrested in Washington last week and is waiting extradition to Anchorage, said Anchorage police Detective Aaron Whitt of the crimes against children unit, which initiated the case after the girl's mother reported the abuse in November.
Podkranic stands accused of maintaining an Internet relationship with the girl and trying to coax her mother into thinking he meant only to teach her religion, according to the charges. But last October, he took a trip to Anchorage and abused the child, taking photos that would later fall into investigators' hands, the papers say.
According to an affidavit filed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, Podkranic met the girl through a mutual friend last summer, when they began "dating" long-distance via the Internet and cell phone.
"Podkranic dismissed her age and told (the girl) how he was amazed at her maturity for only being 12 years old," the charges say.
The girl's mother was concerned and confronted Podkranic, who told her he was mentoring the child religiously, charges say. Because Podkranic was in Washington, the mother thought the relationship was harmless, according to documents.
But she later found pictures of her daughter and Podkranic in the girl's Hotmail account, including two in which a man is performing sexual acts on the girl, taken at a Days Inn hotel during Podkranic's Anchorage visit, charges say.
The reason for that visit, according to the charges, was that Podkranic learned the girl had been talking with another boy on MySpace and got jealous, accusing the girl of cheating on him, which she denied.
"Podkranic's solution was for (the girl) to prove to him that she was not lying; Podkranic would travel to Alaska and get (her) pregnant," the papers say. "She and Podkranic talked about her menstrual cycle. Podkranic tried to schedule his visit to increase their chances of conceiving."
He managed to get her out of the house by having a woman co-worker pose as the mother of one of the girl's friends, charges say. After several long conversations, the woman convinced the girl's mother to allow the child to accompany the family on a trip to Seward. Instead, the girl spent the weekend in the hotel with Podkranic.
It was unclear if that woman, who was not fully identified in the papers, could be facing charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Audrey Renschen said she couldn't comment specifically on the case.
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