By Linda Taaffe

A 34-year-old Los Altos man could face life in prison if a federal grand jury finds him guilty of sexually exploiting a Pennsylvania teen he met over the Internet earlier this year.

During an arraignment last Thursday in a federal court in San Jose, Robert Jay Tashbook pleaded innocent to six sex-related charges that allege he coerced a 16-year-old girl to travel to California to perform sexual favors for him and his friends and persuaded her to take sexual photographs of herself and send them to his south Los Altos home.

This is not the first time Tashbook has faced such charges. He was convicted of sexual offenses involving a minor two times in 1996, according to federal court records.

Law officials thwarted Tashbook’s plans to allegedly turn the Pennsylvania teen into his personal sex slave while she was en route to Oakland International Airport with a one-way ticket reserved and paid for by Tashbook.

The teen’s mother called police May 4, after she found a note from her daughter saying that she had left to pursue a modeling career in California. Law officials were able to trace the teen’s flight and intercepted her during a stopover in Kansas City, according to an FBI affidavit.

Tashbook allegedly met the girl over the Internet last March and tricked her into believing he was involved in the modeling industry, according to the FBI affidavit.

Tashbook allegedly convinced the teen to board a plane to Oakland, using threats and promises to assist her with a modeling career, according to the affidavit.

FBI agents alleged that Tashbook pressured the teen into taking sexually explicit photos of herself, which she mailed to his home.

He told her that if she did not come to California, he would send the sexually explicit photographs to her mother and travel to Pennsylvania to rape her and her younger sister.

Tashbook allegedly told the teen that once in California, she would be his slave.

He would own her, and his friends could do anything they wanted to her. If she did not perform sexual favors on him or his friends when requested, she would be locked in a room and not allowed to eat or wear clothes, according to the FBI affidavit.

The girl told Tashbook several times that she was only 16, according to the affidavit.

A search of Tashbook’s house uncovered naked photos of the teen, airline ticket receipts, a bag containing handcuffs and condoms, children’s toys, coloring books and other pornographic materials.

Tashbook was being held at Santa Clara County Jail last week.