Local cell phone store employee pleads guilty to child pornography crimes

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A Grove City man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to receiving and possessing child pornography.

Neil R. Brown, 41, worked at multiple cell phone stores in Columbus and, in addition to receiving child pornography files, Brown admitted that he also captured nude photos and videos from customers' phones.

A cyber tipline report received in January 2025 led investigators to search Brown's digital accounts and devices.

Investigators discovered more than 75 images and videos of child pornography on Brown's cell phone, including child sexual abuse material of prepubescent minors approximately 7 to 9 years old. Brown paid virtual currency on an app to receive videos of child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, Brown was employed by Cellular Sales and would take the phones of female customers and search through them for sexual or illicit content. Brown then captured the content on his own phone.

Agents also recovered 59 sexual images and videos of Cellular Sales customers that Brown had captured on his phone.

Brown was charged federally in December 2025.

Receipt of child pornography is a federal crime punishable by five to 20 years in prison and possessing child pornography carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jason Cromartie, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and other members of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney's Offices and the 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.

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