Tulare Man Pleads Guilty To Child Pornography & Making Bomb Threat

Thursday, December 26, 2024, 6:45 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

HARRISBURG, PA.- On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, Nathaniel Sean Deleon, 20, of Tulare, California, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and pleaded guilty to a two-count criminal complaint charging him with Distribution of Child Pornography; and Making a False Bomb Threat, in connection with a campaign of retaliation against a Cumberland County, Pennsylvania teen in 2023.

     According to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the charging information filed in the complaint revealed that Deleon met the then-16-year-old child on the Roblox gaming platform and began an online relationship.

     When the relationship ended, Deleon, between June 2023 and lasting through November 2023, caused law enforcement officers in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, to respond to twenty-three related “swatting” incidents at various addresses in Cumberland County, the majority of which belonged to the child victim.

Swatting Call Report Individual Wil Gun

     The calls generally related to information that someone had a gun and had killed or was about to kill another individual. 

     On November 30, 2023, Deleon, identifying himself as the teen victim, informed a suicide prevention worker over an internet messaging application that the teen victim had placed pipe bombs in the classrooms and bathrooms of Big Spring High School located in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and was in a car outside the school with a shotgun. 

Bomb Threats Results In School Being Evacuated

     As a result of the threat, around 650 students and staff from the school were evacuated. No bombs went off, and a subsequent search of the school building and property by law enforcement was unable to locate any explosive devices. Deleon also distributed a sexually explicit video file of the teen victim on two occasions in November 2023. As part of his plea, Deleon agreed to pay restitution in accordance with a schedule to be determined by the U.S. District Court.

     When sentenced, Deleon faces up to twenty-five years in federal prison, a term of supervised release, and a fine. The actual term of imprisonment will be determined by a U.S. District Court Judge based on the seriousness of the offenses and Deleon’s prior criminal history, if any.