Christian Jon Leo, a 24-year-old Wayne County man, has pleaded no contest to charges that he sent sexually explicit messages to a minor. The plea came last Thursday, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18, following an investigation that began on Nov. 1, 2025.
Prosecutors charged Leo with accosting a minor for immoral purposes and using computers to commit a crime, along with a second-habitual-offender enhancement. The case grew out of a complaint that a hotel employee at the Holiday Inn Express on Woodward Avenue in Birmingham was exchanging explicit messages with a minor. Police arrested Leo on Dec. 11, 2025. As reported by ClickOnDetroit, Leo waived his preliminary exam and entered a no-contest plea last Thursday.
What the law says
Under Michigan law, it is a crime to accost, entice or solicit a child for immoral purposes, and it is a separate offense to use the internet or a computer to further such conduct. The penalties for the computer-related charge change depending on how serious the underlying crime is. As outlined by Michigan Courts, a computer-solicitation count can still be prosecuted even if the underlying offense is not ultimately proved, and it can be treated as either a misdemeanor or a felony based on the underlying charge.
Previous conviction and registration
According to ClickOnDetroit, Michigan Department of Corrections records show that Leo was convicted in 2022 of an attempted sexual assault offense and remained on probation through September 2027; he is also listed as a registered sex offender. A third-party registry entry on OffenderRadar lists an Aug. 11, 2022, Oakland County conviction for assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, which appears to line up with the DOC notation. He is set to return to court for sentencing on June 18 at 8:30 a.m.
What happens next
At the June 18 hearing, the judge will decide Leo’s punishment. A no-contest plea is treated like a conviction for sentencing purposes, even though it is not an outright admission of guilt at trial. Cases that combine a prior sex-offense record with computer-based solicitation charges can expose a defendant to prison time, longer supervision, and continued sex-offender registration requirements under Michigan law.
