(LEX 18) — A 26-year-old man accused of murdering a 16-year-old girl in a Perry County ATV accident has pleaded guilty to transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to court documents filed with the US District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky Southern Division.
On Saturday, Feb. 28, 16-year-old Emilynn Clark died in an ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle) accident when another teen who was driving lost control of the vehicle and fell into an embankment, causing Clark to die from her injuries. The teen driver of the ATV was eventually charged with driving under the influence (DUI), as the Perry County Sheriff's Office suspected alcohol was involved in the incident.
After her death, Clark's uncle, Scottie Clark, organized a GoFundMe intended to help pay for a funeral to celebrate Clark's life. As of 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 10, the GoFundMe has reached over $12,400 of its $14,000 goal.
Clark was in the passenger seat of the ATV when the accident occurred and two adult males were in the back seat, one of which was eventually identified as 26-year-old Noah Back of Vicco.
On Tuesday, Mar. 3, the Perry County Sheriff's Office issued two search warrants to further investigate the ATV accident. One of the search warrants was to Back's phone, with Perry County Sheriff Joe Engle stating that his phone will be "sent for analysis in another crime we are investigating separate from the accident."
Covering Kentucky
Perry County Sheriff serves 2 search warrants in connection to deadly ATV crash
On Saturday, Mar. 21, Back was initially arrested on a warrant by the Perry County Sheriff's Office and was charged with murder. He was lodged at the Kentucky River Regional Jail.
In a social media post, Sheriff Engle stated that the department had enough evidence to charge Back with murder stating, "We have established that probable cause exists that the actions Noah Back took on February 28th, exhibited extreme indifference to human life which resulted in the death of 16-year-old Miss Emilynn Clark."
On Tuesday, Mar. 31, a cash bond was set for Back at $176,550 and he was ordered not to contact minors, Clark's family, the teen ATV driver, and to not to use social media, according to documents filed with Perry County District Court.
An autopsy report revealed that Clark was not under the influence of drugs nor alcohol at the time of her death.
Crime
Vicco man arrested in connection to ATV accident resulting in minor's death
On Monday, April 27, Back pleaded guilty to a different crime, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He agreed to a plea deal, acknowledging that the individual he transported across state lines was under the age of 18 years old and that he intended to engage in criminal sexual activity.
According to US District Court documents, on Oct. 28, Back, who was 25-years-old at the time, transported a 14-year-old girl from Perry County and took her to Atlanta, Georgia. While the two were in Georgia, the pair engaged in sexual intercourse, violating Georgia statutory rape codes. The penalty for such crime is at least 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
As a part of the plea deal, Back has agreed to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
Back is set to be sentenced at the US Courthouse in London on Sept. 2nd at 10:30 a.m. He is currently being held at the Laurel County Corrections Center and on a revoked bond (a $400,000 holding bond from Perry County has been carried over). He was booked there on Wednesday, April 1 when he was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
