Nathaniel Sean DeLeon, a 20-year-old from Tulare, California, has been sentenced to 78 months in prison. The sentencing was handed down by United States District Judge Karoline Mehalchick on May 20, 2025. DeLeon's charges include the distribution of child pornography and making a hoax bomb threat as part of a retaliation campaign against a minor in Cumberland County in 2023.
Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus reported that DeLeon met the minor victim, then aged 16, through the Roblox gaming platform. After their online relationship ended, DeLeon initiated a series of "swatting" incidents between June and November 2023. These incidents involved law enforcement responses to false reports at various addresses in Cumberland County, most belonging to the minor victim. The calls falsely claimed that someone had or was about to commit murder with a gun.
On November 30, 2023, posing as the minor victim, DeLeon contacted a suicide prevention worker via an internet messaging app. He falsely claimed that pipe bombs were placed at Big Spring High School in Cumberland County and that he was outside with a shotgun. This led to the evacuation of approximately 650 students and staff from the school. No explosives were found.
In addition to these actions, DeLeon distributed sexually explicit videos of the minor victim twice in November 2023.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. It involves federal, state, and local resources working together to apprehend offenders and rescue victims.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant United States Attorney David C. Williams prosecuted the case.
