A federal jury in Brooklyn has found Billon McLeod guilty on all seven counts of a superseding indictment, including sexual exploitation of a child, attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and coercion and enticement of minors. The verdict was delivered after a three-day trial before United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack. McLeod faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. for the Eastern District of New York and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge at the FBI’s New York Field Office, announced the conviction.
“The defendant is a serial predator whose playbook of using social media to meet vulnerable minor girls, and then groom and exploit them for his own sexual gratification, is a parent’s nightmare,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Because his victims bravely testified at trial, he will now be held accountable for his serious crimes, and today’s verdict will prevent him from victimizing other minors while he serves a lengthy prison sentence.”
According to evidence presented during the trial, between July 2024 and February 2025 McLeod used Snapchat and text messages to communicate with four minor females aged between 12 and 16 years old. He concealed his true age by pretending to be a teenager, gained their trust through emotional manipulation, sent sexually explicit messages, encouraged explicit conversations, and persuaded some victims to visit an apartment in Brooklyn where they engaged in sexual activity that he recorded on his cell phone. McLeod also tried to entice one minor online to create and send sexually explicit content.
“Billon McLeod targeted minor girls on social media to coerce them into engaging in explicit conversations and sexual acts. By concealing his true age and manipulating their emotions, McLeod gained the victims’ trust before subjecting them to unthinkable abuse and exploiting the innocence of four young girls. May today’s verdict reflect the FBI’s stout determination to protect vulnerable children from all online sexual predators,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.
The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Molly Delaney and Daniel J. Marcus from the General Crimes Section with support from Paralegal Specialist Marlane Bosler as well as assistance from the Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section.
This case falls under Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation online through coordination among federal, state, and local agencies as described on www.justice.gov/psc.
McLeod is 31 years old and resides in Brooklyn, New York.
