A central Arkansas man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for sexually exploiting a 6-year-old girl, authorities said.
Cameron Dee Neal, 34, of Jacksonville pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor on May 19, according to a news release from the office of Cody Hiland, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
U.S. District Court Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. also ordered that Neal complete 10 years of supervised release after his prison sentence and pay $18,776 to the victim, the release states. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
An investigation began in December 2015, when Homeland Security Investigations agents in Boston reportedly discovered 75 images of a 6-year-old girl, some of which were child porn, on a photo-sharing website.
According to the release, the child was identified Dec. 18, 2015. During an interview at her school, she told authorities that Neal had taken the photos. The 34-year-old was reportedly arrested the same day.
Hiland's office said Neal told law enforcement officials that he had taken the photos of the girl for about six months and uploaded them to the Internet.
“Taking advantage of innocent children in this way is a heinous crime,” Hiland said in a statement. “This young child’s photos were shared to the world, and she will have to live with that forever."
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
