Bay Area man sentenced to more than 17 years in prison on child pornography charges
SAN FRANCISCO – A Bay Area man previously convicted of producing and possessing child pornography was sentenced Tuesday to 210 months in prison, following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the San Francisco Police Department.
Lesley James McNeal, 53, of San Francisco, appeared before U.S. District Judge William Alsup. McNeal pleaded guilty in March to one count of producing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.
According to his plea, McNeal acknowledged that, beginning on or about March 26, 2011, and through Sept. 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 Dec.14, 2014, he possessed electronic devices that contained no fewer than 26,000 images and 700 videos of child pornography.
“This lengthy sentence should serve as a sobering warning about the consequences facing those involved in downloading and producing child pornography,” said Ryan Spradlin, special agent in charge for HSI San Francisco. “Tragically, every time these images and videos are viewed, the innocent victims depicted in them are violated again.”
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 aided by Rawaty Yim and Patricia Mahoney.
The charges are a product of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, and HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators.
Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
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