Jacksonville Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

LITTLE ROCK—Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, along with Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Division, announced today that Cameron Dee Neal, 34, of Jacksonville, was sentenced to 240 months or 20 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a minor.

United States District Court Judge D. Price Marshall, Jr. sentenced Neal on Thursday following an investigation that revealed Neal had sexually exploited and produced child pornography of a six year-old girl. Judge Marshall also ordered Neal complete 10 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $18,776 in restitution to the victim.

The investigation began on December 14, 2015, when HSI agents in Boston discovered 75 images of a minor child, some of which were child pornography, being shared on the internet through a photo-sharing website. These images were uploaded to the website on December 12, 2015.

The images contained a prepubescent female, approximately six years old, in various stages of undress and nudity. The images were taken at various times of the day and night and some of the images appear to have been taken when the victim was sleeping. In some images the victim is wearing adult underwear and the focus of these images is the victim’s buttocks and vagina. There are also images of the victim in the shower and on the toilet, as well as images of the victim (dressed) at venues outside a home.

On December 18, 2015, agents were able to identify the six-year old minor. Agents interviewed her at her school where she stated that Neal took pictures of her in her bedroom, but told her the pictures were a “secret” because “no one wants to see pictures of my naked bottom and private.” The minor stated that Neal would give her old, stretchy panties to wear for the pictures.

That same day agents arrested Neal, who provided a statement. Neal admitted that he took nude photographs of the minor and uploaded them to Imgsrc.com. Neal stated that he had been taking photographs of the minor for approximately 6 months. Neal admitted that he told the minor how to pose in some of the pictures, including bending over and wearing her mother’s thong underwear. Neal also stated that he told the minor not to tell anyone about the pictures and that he was aroused when he took them.

“Taking advantage of innocent children in this way is a heinous crime,” Hiland said. “This young child’s photos were shared to the world, and she will have to live with that forever. Today’s sentence sends a strong message that this behavior, in addition to being morally reprehensible, has significant consequences.”

Neal admitted that he looked for child pornography on the internet and that in the previous six months he had uploaded approximately 50 images of child pornography. HSI agents showed Neal 11 pornographic photographs of the minor, and he admitted that he took each of them and uploaded them to the internet.

“Child pornography steals the innocence of children and destroys lives,” Parmer said. “The production of child pornography is the most heinous aspect of this illegal activity. Sexual abuse scars children for life, and HSI will continue to work with our state and local law enforcement partners to identify the perpetrators of these horrendous acts and seek justice on behalf of their victims.”

Neal was indicted on January 5, 2016, in a two-count indictment charging him with sexual exploitation of a minor and distribution of child pornography. On May 19, 2017, Neal pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor.

There is no parole in the federal system. When Neal is released upon completion of his 20-year sentence, he will serve 10 years of supervised release. Conditions of his supervised release include registering as a sex offender and no contact with minors under the age of 18.

The case was investigated by HSI and the Arkansas State Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant.

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