Bond County Man Ordered to Serve 10-Year Federal Sentence for Possession of Child Pornography After He Completes State Court Sentence

A Bond County man convicted of possession of child pornography was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on June 17, 2013, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Daniel Allen Neer, age 38, formerly of Mulberry Grove, Illinois, was ordered to serve the statutory maximum 10-year sentence consecutively to an undischarged six-year sentence he is serving based upon his 2012 conviction in Bond County, Illinois, for aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim between the age of 13 and 16. The federal case is based upon conduct which occurred in May 2011, and the state of Illinois case was based upon criminal acts that occurred in 2010.

Following release from his federal sentence of imprisonment, Neer will serve a lifetime term of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender. Neer stipulated to the entry of an order requiring him to pay $1,000 in restitution to two of the victims depicted in his collection of child pornography.

The investigation started in May 2011, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation learned that Neer had a collection of child pornography as it was conducting an investigation of other individuals in the area who were sexually exploiting minors. On May 13, 2011, an individual with actual authority over the desktop computer in defendant’s home gave authorities permission to seize and search it. On May 20, 2011, the FBI contacted defendant at his employer’s place of business in Moline, Illinois, and seized a laptop computer from him. In total, the computers contained 35 images of child pornography. Neer pleaded guilty to the charges on March 8, 2013.

“We are pleased that this dangerous child sex offender received a consecutive sentence, rather than the concurrent sentence he requested. We aggressively pursue and bring to justice child sex offenders and those individuals who seek to exploit children,” United States Attorney Stephen R. Wigginton said.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Division, which operates a task force dedicated to investigating cyber crimes. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne M. Garrison.