Northern California Man Sentenced To 210 Months’ Imprisonment For Production And Possession Of Child Pornography

SAN FRANCISCO – Lesley James McNeal was sentenced to 210 months in prison for production and possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin.  The sentence was handed down on June 21, 2016, by the Honorable William Alsup, U.S. District Judge.

McNeal, 53, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty on March 15, 2016, to one count of production of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a); and one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B).  According to his guilty plea, McNeal acknowledged that, beginning on or about March 26, 2011, and through September 28, 2013, he made 14 videos depicting a girl under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  McNeal further admitted he then installed a program into a computer that allowed others to see and download the videos.  McNeal also acknowledged that, on December 14, 2014, he possessed electronic devices that contained no fewer than 26,000 images and 700 videos of child pornography.  McNeal was indicted on August 18, 2015, and charged with one count each of production of child pornography and possessing child pornography.           

In addition to the prison term, Judge Alsup also sentenced the defendant to a 10-year period of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Maffei prosecuted the case with the assistance of Rawaty Yim and Patricia Mahoney.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by HSI and the San Francisco Police Department.