Man accused of murder in fatal ATV crash now faces federal sex charges
The Perry County man charged with murder in connection to the death of a 16-year-old girl in an all-terrain vehicle crash in February now faces federal sex charges for his alleged relationship with another teen.
Wednesday, federal prosecutors charged Noah Back, 26, of Vicco, with transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Back began a sexual relationship with a girl involved in the wreck when she was 14 and drove her across state lines to Atlanta at least twice, according to FBI charging documents.
He was arrested late last month after investigators determined he “exhibited extreme indifference to human life” in the Feb. 28 ATV accident that killed 16-year-old Emilynn Clark and seriously injured another adult male. Back and the other 16-year-old girl were also on the ATV during the accident. The girl, who was driving and has not been publicly identified, has been charged with a DUI.
Perry County sheriff’s deputies grew suspicious of Back’s relationship with the girl after viewing social media posts that appeared to show the two dating, according to a criminal affidavit signed by FBI Agent Matthew Haynes. A search warrant was conducted on Back’s phone on suspicion of a crime unrelated to the crash before he was charged with murder, the sheriff’s office told the Herald-Leader.
An Instagram direct message written by the girl and reviewed by investigators read, “Yeah he’s 27 and goes for little girls I had just graduated 8th grade when me and him started dating,” according to the affidavit.
Back and the girl began communicating online while she was a student at Robert W. Combs Elementary School, where Back’s mother was employed and he volunteered as a basketball coach, police say. Back recorded videos of their sexual encounters on multiple occasions, according to the charging documents.
He is being held on a $200,000 cash or property bond at the Laurel County Detention Center while is murder charges are being presented to a grand jury.
Perry County Sheriff Joe Engle has said he believes alcohol was a factor in the crash that sent the ATV with four passengers onboard into a culvert embankment. Investigators say they have obtained footage of Back purchasing alcohol and handing it to a minor earlier that day.
Clark’s death jolted the former coal mining city of Vicco which straddles Knott and Perry counties in Eastern Kentucky. More than $12,000 was raised by the community to help her family cover funeral expenses, according to a GoFundMe page reportedly set up by her uncle.
