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Putnam County Commissioner Jimmy Neal faces charges of possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography after a FBI arrest Thursday.
Neal was arrested at home in Baxter after FBI and Homeland Security executed a search warrant. He faced a US Magistrate in Nashville Thursday evening.
The FBI investigation began in 2021. According to details released by U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Mark H. Wildasin, Neal allegedly administered a group on the Kik app. The group included users who viewed and shared child pornography including nude photos of pre-pubescent girls. The photos focused on the genital area.
If convicted, Neal could face a mandatory five years in prison with a sentence up to 20 years possible.
The investigation began after an Oklahoma man, also a user in the KIK group, was arrested. Other members of the group were identified as part of that investigation, including Neal who allegedly went by the user name “TennesseeMaster.”
Neal will go before a judge for a preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon.
Neal serves the ninth district of Putnam County. He won the Republican primary earlier this month. He served as a Lieutenant in the Tennessee Highway Patrol after multiple years of service in the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. He retired from the THP in 2019. A graduate of Monterey High School, Neal served in the US Navy.
