She said Toby Studabaker had been charged only with abducting Shevaun Pennington on Saturday from northwest England, after the pair allegedly built up a relationship over a year through the Internet.

The spokeswoman added that Studabaker was not suspected of a more serious charge of child abduction with intent to commit sexual abuse.

Police in his home state of Michigan have said he does not figure on its Public Sex Offender Registry, indicating no criminal record for sexual abuse.

Studabaker was due to face a German judge to determine whether his arrest in the city of Frankfurt on Wednesday conformed to German law, to verify his identity and to read him an international arrest warrant from London.

The 31-year-old Afghan war veteran was picked up in Frankfurt following an operation by British, French and German police, Interpol and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Pennington was reunited with her parents in an emotional homecoming on Wednesday after a five-day escapade that saw the two fly from Manchester to Paris and then move on to Germany.

WAR.WIRE