8-year term levied in 1st prosecution under new child-sex law

By Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The first man prosecuted and convicted under a new law aimed at discouraging U.S. citizens from traveling abroad to have sex with children was sentenced in Seattle yesterday to just over eight years in prison.

Michael Lewis Clark, a 70-year-old retired Army sergeant who had lived in Cambodia off and on for the last seven years, pleaded guilty in March to having sex with two Cambodian boys, ages 10 and 13.

He was arrested in Phnom Penh last year.

According to court documents, Clark told investigators he had probably had sex with as many as 50 boys between the ages of 10 and 18, paying the boys the equivalent of about $2 for each sexual encounter.

In meting out the high-end sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik noted the extreme vulnerability of the poverty-stricken child prostitutes Clark frequented.

"These children were so at risk they could be purchased for less than you would pay for a latte here," Lasnik said.

Clark is the first person in the United States to be convicted under legislation passed by Congress last spring.

The law, more widely known as an anti-child-pornography measure and for encouraging states to set up Amber Alert systems for missing children, also allows the prosecution of Americans who travel to foreign countries seeking sex with children.

The new law is part of an increased effort worldwide among governments, nongovernmental agencies and child-welfare organizations to address the sexual exploitation of children in poverty-stricken countries.
 
According to statistics from child-welfare groups, as many as 2 million children are victimized each year by so-called sex tourists. Some groups estimate that as many as one-quarter of all sex tourists are from the United States.

In all, six men have been indicted under the new law, including Gary Evans Jackson, 56, of Bainbridge Island, who earlier this week pleaded guilty to sexual acts with three Cambodian boys ages 10, 14 and 15. He has yet to be sentenced.

In entering their guilty pleas, both Clark and Jackson reserved the right to challenge the constitutionality of the law.

Clark's defense attorney, Mike Filipovic, said the law oversteps the reach of the U.S. government.

Assistant U.S. attorneys Susan Dohrmann and John Lulejian said the relatively harsh sentence will put would-be child predators on notice.

"We hope that the result today really will send a message around the world that this kind of behavior cannot be tolerated. It must not be tolerated, and it will not be tolerated," Lulejian said.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com