LIMA — A jailhouse plan hatched between two inmates in the Allen County jail to secretly smuggle letters from one of the men to his purported victim — an underage girl with whom he is alleged to have been sexually involved — has resulted in obstruction of justice charges against his jail accomplice.
Todd Neu, 54, of Lima, was indicted by the March session of the Allen County grand jury on the third-degree felony obstruction of justice charge for his role in assisting fellow inmate Kyle Baker pass letters to the juvenile.
Neu was jailed in mid-January following his indictment on charges of the illegal use of a minor in a nudity-oriented material or performance, a second-degree felony, and 14 counts of pandering sexually-oriented matter involving a minor, all fourth-degree felonies.
While in jail, Neu reportedly was befriended by Baker, 27, a former Shawnee High School teacher who was arrested in late December and charged with sexual battery, a third-degree felony after a Shawnee Township Police officer observed Baker and a 14-year-old female student together in Baker’s vehicle. Police had received a tip that Baker was having an improper relationship with the student. A grand jury in mid-February added additional charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, five counts of sexual battery and a single count of tampering with evidence.
According to court documents, detectives from the Shawnee Police Department “routinely monitor” phone calls by inmates, and Detective Jack Miller said he heard Neu discuss Baker “on several occasions” during those calls. Miller noted that Neu told family members that Baker “intended to send letters” to his young victim and that Neu had agreed to mail letters to his own family “and secretly place the Baker letters inside” his own correspondence. Neu’s wife was instructed to direct the couple’s 15-year-old child to deliver the letters to the girl at Shawnee High School, according to Miller’s narrative.
Neu was released from jail on bond on Jan. 30, and on Jan. 31 Baker called Neu and was told “package delivered,” according to court documents. On Feb. 1, detectives went to the home of the 14-year-old girl and obtained the letters.
The letters reportedly instructed the girl to contact him at the jail to “coordinate their statements” and also instructed the girl to deny receiving the letters if questioned by detectives.
Neu will be arraigned Friday morning in Allen County Common Pleas Court on the obstruction of justice charge. Baker is due back in court May 5 for a final pre-trial hearing. His trial is scheduled for May 21.
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