Lorain County Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Abuse Related Charges, Including Driving Out of State to Sexually Exploit a Minor

CLEVELAND - A 47-year-old man has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of sending, receiving, and possessing Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), and to coercing a 13-year-old girl to meet him for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Michael Neville, of Elyria, Ohio, pleaded guilty to five counts in a superseding indictment, those being:

• Receipt and Distribution of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct
• Possession of Child Pornography
• Interstate Travel to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct
• Sexual Exploitation of Children
• Receipt of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct

District Judge Charles Esque Fleming accepted Neville's plea Aug. 26.

According to court documents and evidence presented to the judge, from about Jan. 23, 2024, to Sept. 21, 2025, Neville sent numerous sexually explicit communications to an undercover agent purporting to be the father of a 9-year-old girl, using a social media messaging application. The messages were largely focused on the defendant's sexual interest in children. Federal agents executed a search warrant and seized Neville's electronic devices. Forensic analysis of Neville's devices found that they contained CSAM of pre-pubescent children, and that he sent CSAM material involving the sadistic abuse of an infant to others.

During the investigation, agents also discovered that Neville was communicating with a 13-year-old girl online for about a year. They learned that in August 2021, Neville drove more than 700 miles from Ohio to Massachusetts to meet with the 13-year-old he was messaging online. Once there, he met with the girl and took her to a hotel where he proceeded to coerce her to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Investigators also learned that Neville solicited sexually explicit images from a second minor victim.

Neville is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 10, 2026. He faces maximum prison sentences of 20 years for counts 1, 2, and 5, and a maximum of 30 years for counts 3 and 4.

A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Margaret A. Kane for the Northern District of Ohio.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative is led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices throughout the country and 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, visit justice.gov/PSC.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.orgLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link., or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.