BRIDGEPORT — A Danbury man was sentenced to 22 years in prison Tuesday for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl, according to federal prosecutors.
The minor had been reported missing from her home in Georgia in May when a man — 34-year-old Robert Fyke — took her to his home in Lubbock, Texas. While she was in his home, Fyke produced sexually explicit images of the victim, according to court documents.
Wayne Marcell, 36, of Danbury, met the girl online through video game and social media platforms the following month. Prosecutors discovered through his search history that Marcell knew the child was missing.
“Marcell chose to exploit the situation,” U.S. Attorney Vanessa Robert Avery said in Marcell’s sentencing memorandum.
“Instead of contacting law enforcement to share his information and assist in the Minor Victim's rescue from the sexual abuse she was suffering in Texas, Marcell exploited her vulnerable state by arranging her to be transported across state lines so that he could continue her abuse,” Avery said.
In June 2021, Marcell paid his friend’s wife $2,000 to drive the minor from Texas to Illinois. He told his friend that that the minor was a family member who needed help getting out of a “sticky situation,” Avery said in the memorandum.
Marcell then drove from Connecticut to Illinois, picked up the girl and brought her to his home in Danbury — a 32-hour round trip. On the drive, he also sexually abused the victim at a hotel in Ohio, according to the memorandum.
Over the next 12 days, Marcell sexually abused the girl multiple times and took photos and videos of the sexual abuse, Avery said.
Marcell has been detained since he was arrested on related state charges on June 23, 2021. On April 5, 2022, he pleaded guilty in federal court to sexual exploitation of a child, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
He has since paid $86,885.74 in restitution to the minor victim. According to the memorandum, the restitution comes from the expected therapy costs for the minor and her family.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport sentenced Marcell to 22 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. Bolden also ordered Marcell to pay a $30,000 fine.
Before meeting Marcell, the victim met Fyke online through a video chat platform in April 2021. The next month, Fyke drove from Texas to Georgia and picked up the minor. The teenager lived with Fyke for about four weeks while Fyke produced sexually explicit images of the victim.
Fyke pleaded guilty to a related charge in the Northern District of Texas. In December 2021, Fyke was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
