Politics & Government

Another 'Not Guilty' Plea for Child Pornography Charges

Neal Rigo, 46, pleaded not guilty to 73 charges related to child pornography.

The third of the three Lakewood men pleaded not guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Thursday.

Neal Rigo, 46, pleaded not guilty to 73 charges related to child pornography, including pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor; minor in nude material or performance; and possession of criminal tools.

His bond was set at 10 percent of $10,000, cash or surety.

Find out what's happening in Lakewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Two other Lakewood men — Christopher Willard, 33, and Michael Liggett, 54 — who were also indicted as part of a 10-month investigation into child pornography, have already been arraigned.

All three men are all believed to have possessed and traded child pornography sometime between December 2010 through October 2011, according to Maria Russo, spokeswoman for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason

Find out what's happening in Lakewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

They were indicted earlier this month as part of Operation Fall Clean Sweep, a 10-month investigation into child pornography by the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

Four juveniles were also indicted in the Fall Clean Sweep. 

Willard pleaded guilty in 1999 to a number of charges, including pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor; pandering obscenity involving a minor and possessing criminal tools.

For the Fall Clean Sweep operation, detectives identified IP addresses being used to trade and download child pornography pictures and videos — using new technology.

From December 2010 through October 2011, 46 law enforcement officers from 16 executed 36 search warrants on homes in 17 communities throughout Cuyahoga County.

Officers seized 1,501 items such as computers, CDs, DVDs, cell phones, flash drives, floppy disks, digital cameras, video gaming systems, VHS tapes, and weapons. Eighty-nine additional cases have been referred to 59 law enforcement agencies outside of Cuyahoga County, including one in Illinois.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here