Contributed Photo/Courtesy Arizona Attorney General’s Office: Neal Lee Tuomi is being held on a $250,000 bond in Greenlee County Jail while awaiting adjudication for possession of child pornography.
By Walt Mares
CLIFTON – A man who worked as a contractor for the Freeport McMoRan Inc. Morenci Operations currently sits in Greenlee County Jail after allegedly being caught with multiple images of child pornography.
Neal Lee Tuomi, 34, formerly of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Tucson, has been charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor – Class-2 Felonies and dangerous crimes against children. On Dec. 31, 2019, he entered a plea of not guilty in Greenlee County Superior Court at his arraignment.
The case is being tried by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office out of Phoenix and was originally discovered by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which discovered lewd images of child pornography in Tuomi’s possession from Aug. 20, 2019, through Oct. 23, 2019, while he was working in Greenlee County. He is being held on a $250,000 bond. Assistant Attorney General Todd C. Lawson is listed as the prosecutor.
Tuomi was originally indicted by an Arizona State Grand Jury on Oct. 28, 2019. According to his indictment, the state alleges Tuomi “knowingly distributed, received, electronically transmitted, possessed or exchanged a visual or print medium in which a minor is engaged in exploitative exhibition or other sexual conduct” in which the minor is under the age of 15. In this case, the minors include infants and toddlers.
Tuomi was later arrested in Imperial County, Calif. and was extradited back to Greenlee County.
