South Carolina Man Arrested for Sex Crimes Against Children, 1 Victim from Tuscaloosa, Alabama

A South Carolina man faces 19 charges connected with the exploitation of minors, including one victim who lives in Tuscaloosa.

Johnathan David Neel (23) of Fairfield, South Carolina, was arrested on Aug. 5 by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Attorney General's Office.

Investigators initially received a CyberTipLine report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that led them to Neel.

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According to investigators, Neel solicited a minor for sex, encouraged them to produce child sexual abuse material, distributed child sexual abuse material, possessed child sexual abuse material and distributed nude images to a minor.

The multi-agency investigation was conducted by the ICAC, NCMEC, Investigators with the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations, Fairfax, VA, County Police Department and Tuscaloosa Police Department.

Neel has since been charged with four counts of first degree criminal solicitation of a minor, three counts of first degree sexual exploitation of a minor, three counts of second degree sexual exploitation of a minor, eight counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of disseminating obscene material to a person under the age of 18.

In total, Neel can face up to 220 years imprisonment if convicted for all the counts. The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.