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California Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Crimes
Neal LaPointe, a 31-year-old man from Sacramento, California, has pleaded guilty to charges of Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors in a South Dakota court. He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of Failure to Appear. The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 60 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, life of supervised release, and $300 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The charges involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors stem from incidents between March 1, 2012, and April 30, 2013. During that timeframe, LaPointe was living in California and used computers, the internet, and the social networking site Facebook to solicit images of minors engaging in explicit sexual conduct, and would then distribute these images via computer and over the internet. Some of the minor victims lived on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation and elsewhere in South Dakota.
The Failure to Appear charge stems from an incident when LaPointe was released on electronic monitoring and to reside with a third party on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. He failed to appear for his next court appearance on July 14, 2014, and his whereabouts were unknown until February 13, 2015, when he was apprehended in Miami, Florida.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, Sioux Falls Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tim Maher and Sarah Collins are prosecuting the case.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date has been set for December 21, 2015. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.
LaPointe’s case is a stark reminder of the dangers of online child exploitation and the importance of law enforcement’s efforts to combat it. The Federal Crime Victims Fund, which LaPointe may be ordered to contribute to, provides critical support to victims of federal crimes.
The defendant’s real full name is Neal LaPointe, and the exact criminal charges include Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors, and Failure to Appear. The city and state involved are Rapid City, South Dakota. The exact dates include March 1, 2012, to April 30, 2013, and February 13, 2015. The sentence or outcome is pending, but the maximum penalty is up to 60 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, life of supervised release, and $300 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The dollar amounts involved include a maximum fine of $250,000 and a possible contribution of $300 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Key Facts
- State: South Dakota
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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