Niles Township School District 219 teacher charged with transporting child pornography into Mexico
A Niles Township School District 219 teacher is charged with transporting child pornography on a flight to Mexico.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois said 42-year-old Thomas Neal flew from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City on June 17.
Prosectors said when he arrived, he was selected for secondary screening by Mexican border authorities, at which time they found child pornography images and videos on his phone.
Border agents in Mexico took his phone and luggage, in which they found two laptop and six electronic storage devices, and immediately sent him and his luggage back to the United States on a flight to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
Upon arriving in Houston, agents from the Department of Homeland Security searched Neal's phone and found hundreds of files of child pornography, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Neal is a teacher at a high school in the Northern District for Illinois. A spokesperson for District 219 said they were made aware of the charges by Homeland Security Thursday and are cooperating fully with the active investigation.
"The employee under HSI investigation has been placed on suspension," the spokesperson wrote. "D219 takes seriously any complaint or allegation against an employee, and we will continue to work with authorities to ensure appropriate actions are taken to keep our school community safe."
Neal remains in custody as he awaits a detention hearing on June 29. He is charged with one count of transportation of child pornography, which is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison, and has a maximum possible sentence of 20 years.
