Macomb man gets 20 years for tricking teens into sending nudes

A Macomb County man who posed as a teenage female on social media in order to trick several male teenagers into sending him graphic sexual images of themselves has been sentenced to serve 20 years in federal prison.

Thomas Neil, 42, of Sterling Heights was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Terrence G. Berg on charges of sexual exploitation of children and material containing child pornography.

Federal prosecutors said Neil qualifies as a “repeat and dangerous” sex offender as he used the same method to victimize boys as far back as 2010. In all, 16 victims have been identified.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said her office will continue to work to make the Internet a safer place for children.

“This investigation and subsequent prosecution ended this defendant’s repeated sexual exploitation of children. This significant sentence demonstrates that those that seek to harm our children through online exploitation will be held responsible,” Ison said.

According to court records, Neil admitted in July 2020 that he pretended to be a teenage female on the Instagram messaging platform. Neil tricked a 13-year-old male into creating sexually explicit images of himself and sending them to him.

An investigation determined Neil used the same method to victimize approximately 16 boys starting in 2010. He had the minors engage in behavior that would be humiliating or painful.

Neil was able to gain the trust of the teens and convinced them they were desired and loved, then used that trust to have them engage in sexually explicit conduct, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Rawsthorne wrote in a sentencing memo.

But Neil’s defense attorneys argued his difficult childhood and mental illness should account for a lower prison sentence, and that his autism spectrum disorder made him not recognize the wrongful nature of his behavior.

Prosecutors responded by pointing out he personally interacted with the victims that showed “trickery, grooming, and deceit.”

They noted in 2011, when Neil was 30, he was arrested for domestic violence against his parents, who expressed fear that Neil would kill them. That case was later dismissed, records show.

The mother of one of the victims submitted a letter to the sentencing judge. She said Neil’s actions were “sickening, sad and revolting to say the least.”

“No parent should have to sit down their 13-yearold and explain that a horrible excuse for a human has taken advantage of him in this way,” the woman wrote.