ROMNEY, W.Va. — A 53-year-old Richmond, Va., man pleaded guilty recently in U.S. District Court in Martinsburg after being arrested in July 2006 in Hampshire County by a deputy and FBI agents.

Ronald L. Phillips pleaded guilty to one count of an indictment charging him with interstate travel for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity of a minor.

In June 2006, Phillips began an online chat relationship with a person who he believed to be a 14-year-old Romney girl. Phillips’ e-mail and online conversations with the minor were continuous from June through the morning of July 30, 2006, when Phillips traveled to Romney for an arranged meeting to have sex with the minor.

When Phillips arrived in Romney, he was confronted by an undercover Hampshire County deputy sheriff, as well as several special FBI agents.

Phillips, who is in custody, faces a maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas O. Mucklow.