Convicted sex offender Rodney Joel Neal pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender in Florida, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Neal, 53, was arrested on October 10, 2014, and has been in custody ever since.
According to court documents, Neal was found guilty in May 1988 of aggravated child molestation and child molestation in Macon County, Georgia. In July 2014, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, but failed to register as a sex offender in the state, despite being required to do so under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist state and local authorities in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders.
The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
Neal is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date. His plea is the latest in a string of cases brought by federal prosecutors in the Northern District of Florida as part of the ongoing effort to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse.
The U.S. Marshals Service and other federal agencies have been working closely with state and local authorities to identify and apprehend non-compliant sex offenders, and to bring them to justice. This case is a prime example of the importance of this work.
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Related Federal Cases
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- Duncanville Sex Offender Gets 55 Months for Failing to Register · Texas
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