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Marine recruiter faces sex charges with teen

A Marine recruiter was arrested Wednesday and charged with three felonies for allegedly forging a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl he met while recruiting at a high school job fair, police said.

Sgt. Victor Sanchez-Millan, 23, was charged with unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, unlawful communication with a minor and sexual conduct with a person under the age of 18, said Lt. Paul Shelgren, a spokesman with the Lincoln (Calif.) Police Department.

Shelgren said the 4 p.m. arrest at a Marine recruiting station outside Sacramento came after the family of the teen reported an inappropriate relationship between her and Sanchez-Millan. They met in April at Lincoln High School, where she is a student.

Sanchez-Millan was assigned to a recruiting sub-station in nearby Roseville as part of the San Diego-based 12th Marine Corps District, said Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Cress, a district spokesman. He has been suspended from all recruiting duties pending the outcome of the case, Cress said.

Sanchez-Millan joined the Corps in June 2002 out of Livingston, Calif., as a bulk fuel specialist and has been a recruiter since May 2006, Cress said. Sanchez-Millan was being held Thursday on $75,000 bail, Shelgren said.

If Sanchez-Millan is found guilty, he could face additional charges with the Corps.

“The Marine Corps does not tolerate any type of misconduct and takes all allegations seriously,” Cress said. “Any Marine found guilty of misconduct or inappropriate action will be held accountable in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

The Sacramento Bee reported Thursday that the teen’s father — an Army veteran left anonymous to protect the girl’s identity — described the situation as a “nightmare,” especially since she has an interest in joining the Corps.

The father told the Bee he thinks the alleged relationship between his daughter and the recruiter was consensual, but that he took advantage of her. The father turned in a stack of MySpace messages between the two, he told the Bee.