Airman pleads guilty to taking 14-year-old Iowa girl to Georgia for sex

A 28-year-old United States Air Force Senior Airman pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to having sex with a 14-year-old Iowa girl and taking her to Georgia for a month.

Gary Archer, of Valdosta, Ga, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual activity and one count transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in unlawful sexual activity.

Archer, who held his head down and started crying when he pleaded guilty to the charges, admitted to coming to Iowa from Georgia May 28 to have sex with a 14-year-old Iowa girl, then taking her across state lines in July into Georgia, where they stayed for a month.

Archer and the girl  stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Iowa for a week before traveling to Georgia, and then stayed a month at a hotel and his apartment in Valdosta, Ga, according to information from last month's detention hearing.

At the detention hearing, Magistrate Jon Scoles said Archer had an elaborate scheme to get the girl's father to give her permission to travel to Georgia by disguising his voice through an application on his cell phone. Archer pretended to be a woman – a mother of a “sick friend” -- who asked for the girl to come visit.

Scoles said last month there is also evidence from the girl that she had sex with Archer. The 14-year-old was taken to the doctor complaining of stomach pains. She told a nurse she had been sexually active with a 27-year-old Georgia man, and said she wanted to take a pregnancy test and be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

During an interview with child protection services, the girl also identified Archer as the man she had sexual intercourse with, Scoles said.

According to the sentencing guideline range, Archer faces a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison, and could face a life sentence and a fine of up to $500,000 for the two charges. Sentencing hasn't been set.

Archer made a conditional plea to count two, which allows him to appeal that charge regarding his motion to dismiss. He alleges that charge isn't valid for an Iowa court because it claims the sexual act occurred in Georgia. A judge hasn't yet ruled on the motion.

Archer has been in the Air Force since 2006 and was stationed at Moody Air Force Base, near Valdosta, Ga.