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UNF Spinnaker

Student admits to sexual exploitation of a 4-year-old, deputies say

Photo courtesy of St. John's County Sherriff's Office
Neal D. Buckles. Photo courtesy of St. John’s County Sherriff’s Office

Neal D. Buckles, the UNF freshman accused of possessing and sending child pornography, also admitted to sexually exploiting a 4-year-old to investigators, records from St. John’s County officials state.

According to the police report, Buckles “made several other admissions to criminal activity involving the sexual exploitation of a 4-year-old child and possession of child pornography.” This information is being investigated further.

Buckles, a 19-year-old child psychology major who advertised a business called Buckles’ Babysitters on his Facebook profile, also admitted to sharing images depicting young boys committing sexual acts to “an associate” who lived out of state, according to the report.

Buckles was apprehended on campus Sept. 22, the report states, after uploading two graphic images depicting young boys committing sexual acts to an email account in July.

The images depicted boys who could have been no older than 10 years old, according to the report. The first image showed two nude boys, and the second showed three — two of whom were nude, and the other wearing only underwear, the report states.

At his first appearance in court Sept. 23, Buckles’ bail was set at $22,500 and he was ordered not to have unsupervised contact with children or use the Internet. Buckles was out of custody later that day.

As for disciplinary action from UNF, Director of PR Joanna Norris stated in an email that the Dean of Students will collect any reports of misconduct and review the information, but there is no word yet on whether Buckles will face disciplinary action from the school.

Spinnaker has been unable to reach Buckles for comment, as calls to his phone number go straight to voicemail.

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact [email protected].

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