Elyria man, local basketball coach faces child pornography charges

Note: This story has been edited to correct the name of the Lake Ridge Head of School, Mitch White. An Elyria man and former local basketball coach faces federal child pornography charges after he allegedly exchanged messages with an undercover FBI agent in which he made plans to have sex with a 9-year-old girl. Michael Neville, 46, of Warwick Drive, faces two felony charges related to possession and distribution of child pornography in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio following his arrest on Monday. According to court records, Neville exchanged online messages with an FBI agent posing as a father from New York who made plans with Neville to meet and have sex with the father's 9-year-old daughter, shared child sex abuse material and admitted to prior and ongoing sexual relationships with several underage girls. Neville spent the 2024-25 season as the boys basketball coach for Lake Ridge Academy in North Ridgeville, but he is no longer employed by the school, according to Lake Ridge Director of Marketing and Advancement Chandra Olson. A request seeking comment has been left with Neville's attorney, Joseph Morse of Cleveland. An affidavit filed by the Cleveland office of the FBI lays out the discussion in which Neville allegedly had with an agent about planning a sexual encounter with a child, and also shows that Neville has been investigated for possession of child sexual material several times in the past. Neville also allegedly told the agent that he had previously had sex with a 13-year-old girl, had "made out with" a 14-year-old and planned to have sex with a 15-year-old girl from Texas "soon." He also told the agent that he has not "played" with — meaning had any sexual contact with — a 5-year-old younger relative of his, but that '"she seems like she'll be into it," and that he just has to 'find the right time,'" the affidavit said. According to the affidavit, Neville began communicating with the undercover agent on Aug. 25, first responding to a comment that the agent had made on a picture on an unnamed communication application. The agent, purporting to be a 45-year-old father from New York with a 9-year-old, hearing impaired daughter, engages with Neville, who over the course of several days starts asking for pictures of the girl and about meeting with the father to have sex with her. The two make tentative plans to meet in Pittsburgh and have sex with the child. Neville says multiple times that he is apprehensive of meeting with the agent and fears being arrested when he arrives in Pittsburgh. "I coach basketball and having to register would not look good for finding and keeping jobs," Neville said, probaby referencing the Ohio sexual offender registry. He also says the situation seems "too good to be true," and repeatedly presses the undercover agent for pictures and videos of his purported daughter. The two allegedly planned to meet in Pittsburgh on Sept. 13, but Neville did not arrive. He did continue to communicate with the undercover agent and send numerous pictures and videos of nude children and children being sexually abused. On Monday, FBI special agents and other officers carried out a federal search warrant at Neville's home on Warwick Court and arrested Neville. Neville has been charged with possession of child pornography and receipt and distribution of visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit activity, both felonies, in federal district court. He appeared before Magistrate Judge Jonathan Greenberg on Monday, and was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service ahead of his next court appearance on Sept. 30. The affidavit includes several prior instances of Neville being flagged or investigated for alleged child abuse or possession of child pornography in the past, but Monday was the first time he was charged for either crime. In 2001, Elyria police received a complaint from Lorain County Children Services stating that an 11-year-old female relative of Neville's had reported to a counselor that she had been sexually abused by Neville. The affidavit said that sexual abuse was also suspected against the 11-year-old's younger sister, who was 7 at the time. The Chronicle has requested the police report from this incident. In both 2021 and 2022, the the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or NCMEC, flagged Neville's digital communications for possible child sexual abuse material. The FBI confirmed both reports as containing child sexual abuse material, but Neville was not arrested at those times. "While (these incidents) occurred prior to the current investigation, they establish Neville's sexual interest in children as a pattern of behavior spanning decades and provide context and background to his conversations with the (undercover agent)," the affidavit said. Olson said that Neville did serve as as the Lake Ridge Upper School basketball coach last season, but he has not been employed with the school in any capacity since the end of the last academic year. "We have recently been informed that Michael Neville, who previously served as our boys' basketball coach, was arrested on federal child pornography charges," Head of School Mitch White said in a release. "We are deeply disturbed by these allegations, and we stand firmly with survivors of abuse and remain fully committed to the safety, well-being and dignity of our students. At this time, there is no indication that any Lake Ridge students or staff were involved. During his employment, Mr. Neville held all required credentials, including a valid Pupil Activity Permit, and passed all mandated background checks — most recently in September 2024." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.