New York Man Pleads Guilty to Traveling to Louisiana to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct with Fifteen Year Old Female

<_w3a_sdt contentlocked="t" docpart="E6CB50C7810A4D148D8373B1C293A5EB" id="483134106" text="t">NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that PETER NEALON ("NEALON"), age 66, from Schenectady, New York, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Darrel James Papillion to interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2423(b).

According to court documents, beginning on or about July 17, 2023, NEALON met law enforcement personnel operating in an undercover capacity posing as a fifteen-year-old female (FM1) on Instagram. Over the next several months, NEALON engaged FM1 in overtly sexual conversations and, on multiple occasions, transmitted images and videos depicting what he claimed to be his erect penis. Beginning in about July 2023, and continuing on multiple occasions until on or about March 27, 2024, during his communications with FM1, NEALON told FM1 that he intended to visit her in Louisiana to engage in sex with FM1 and explained, in considerable detail, the sex acts he intended to perform.

In February 2024, NEALON used a messaging application to communicate with someone he believed to be a fourteen-year-old female, who was FM1's friend (FM2). During

conversations with FM1 and FM2, NEALON expressed an intent and expectation to engage in various forms of sexual contact with FM1 and FM2, individually and collectively.

In March 2024, NEALON discussed logistics of his trip with FM1 and, on about March 19, 2024, booked flight and hotel reservations from Albany, New York, to New Orleans, Louisiana. NEALON travelled by plane to New Orleans on about March 27, 2024, in furtherance of his intent to engage in sexual acts with FM1 and FM2.

NEALON faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 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. Sentencing before Judge Papillion has been scheduled for October 8, 2024.