PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A New Jersey man pleaded not guilty in federal court this morning to charges he transported a teenaged girl from Rhode Island to his home in New Jersey with the intent of having sex with her.
Daniel K. Berger, 27, was indicted by a grand jury on a single count of transporting a minor under the age of 18 across state lines with the intention of engaging in a sexual activity with the minor. He is not charged with kidnapping. He faces a maximum of ten years to life in prison if convicted.
At the time of his arrest federal, state and local police said Berger had established a relationship online with the girl. On July 24 he went to Portsmouth, where she lived, and drove her back to his apartment in Haskell, N.J. He has been held at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls since his arrest July 25.
When the girl was reported missing, officials declared an Amber Alert search for her. Witnesses who saw the girl get into Berger's car and cellular telephone records enabled investigators to locate Berger.
Shortly after midnight on July 25, about 16 hours after the search for the girl had begun, FBI agents went to Berger's apartment and found her. They located Berger nearby in his car and arrested him.
-- The original version of this report, advancing the arraignment, was published at 8:43 a.m.