FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Erin Maloney, Communications Director
Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit
(813) 557-3366 | [email protected]
TAMPA, FL (April 30, 2025) — Former Green Bay Packers linebacker Mike Neal will remain behind bars on sexual battery charges until trial after prosecutors argued he remains a danger to the victim and the community. Neal is charged with sexually battering a woman and filming the crime. He was also arrested a week earlier for domestic battery by strangulation against the same victim.
Neal appeared in court during a pretrial detention hearing on Tuesday where prosecutors entered the video into evidence. In the video, the victim can be heard crying and pleading for Neal to stop. Prosecutors also submitted to the court a recorded phone call between Neal and the victim where he can be heard threatening to put the victim “in the grave.”
The state’s pretrial detention motion was granted due to the high probability of danger his release poses to the community and to the victim. The judge also noted the victim’s previous reports to law enforcement about beatings and strangulation by Neal and provided photographic evidence to the court.
“Our office stands with the victims of domestic and sexual violence, not just in words, but in action. We are committed to doing everything in our power to protect survivors while giving them a voice as we fight for justice. It is clear this defendant poses a danger to the community, and that is why our prosecutors fought hard to keep him off the streets,” said State Attorney Suzy Lopez.
Our office’s Chief of Special Victims Unit Jessica Couvertier successfully argued the pretrial detention motion. The next step in the judicial process will be an arraignment hearing which has not yet been set.
State Attorney Lopez leads a team of talented prosecutors and professional staff who are responsible for all criminal prosecutions in the 13th Judicial Circuit. The State Attorney’s Office is committed to keeping the public informed about the outcomes of major court cases to ensure transparency and accountability. We believe it is of utmost importance for the public to understand how our justice system operates in order to build trust. To learn more about the outcome of cases prosecuted in our office, you can follow us on social media:
- Twitter: @HillsboroughSAO, @SuzyLopezSA
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