According to the indictment, beginning on or about July 17, 2023, and culminating on or about March 27, 2024, NEALON travelled from Albany, New York, to New Orleans, Louisiana, by plane for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with an individual NEALON believed to be a fifteen-year-old female.
U. S. Attorney Evans reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, NEALON faces a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than thirty (30) years. NEALON also faces at least five (5) years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. NEALON may also be required to register as a sex offender.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Briana Williams of the Narcotics Unit and Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, are in charge of the prosecution.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.