Nola Reporter

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Peter Nealon, age 66, from Schenectady, New York, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Darrel James Papillion to interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2423(b).

According to court documents, beginning on or about July 17, 2023, Nealon met law enforcement personnel operating in an undercover capacity posing as a fifteen-year-old female (FM1) on Instagram. Over the next several months, Nealon engaged FM1 in overtly sexual conversations and transmitted images and videos depicting what he claimed to be his erect penis. Beginning in about July 2023 and continuing until on or about March 27, 2024, during his communications with FM1, Nealon told FM1 that he intended to visit her in Louisiana to engage in sex with FM1 and explained the sex acts he intended to perform.

In February 2024, Nealon used a messaging application to communicate with someone he believed to be a fourteen-year-old female who was FM1’s friend (FM2). During conversations with FM1 and FM2, Nealon expressed an intent and expectation to engage in various forms of sexual contact with FM1 and FM2.

In March 2024, Nealon discussed logistics of his trip with FM1 and booked flight and hotel reservations from Albany, New York, to New Orleans, Louisiana. Nealon traveled by plane to New Orleans on about March 27, 2024.

Nealon faces a maximum term of imprisonment of thirty years. He also faces at least five years up to a lifetime of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. Nealon may also be required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing before Judge Papillion has been scheduled for October 8, 2024.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal resources for locating and prosecuting individuals who exploit children via the Internet.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Briana Williams and Jordan Ginsberg are in charge of the prosecution.