Hilton Head man charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, police say
A Hilton Head man was charged Monday with uploading child sexual abuse material to the internet, police say.
John Neal, 78, was charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in the second degree, according to the Beaufort County Detention Center jail log.
Neal turned himself in Monday morning after police obtained three active arrest warrants, according to an alert from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. After Neal’s arrest, the alert said, police obtained a search warrant and took a laptop, a cellphone and an electronic storage device from Neal’s apartment on Hilton Head.
Neal made the uploads over the past several months, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Maj. Bob Bromage said. Investigators from the Sheriff’s Office worked alongside the SC Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force, Bromage said.
Neal was in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center as of Monday afternoon, according to the jail log.
The investigation is ongoing, Bromage said.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, help can be reached at the National Sexual Assault Hotline at (800) 656-4673.
This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 3:34 PM.
