A Seneca County jury found Bryndyn Neel, 37, guilty on Oct. 22 of forcible touching and sexual abuse involving a 13-year-old girl, with prosecutors saying the assault happened at Neel’s Seneca Falls home back on July 1, 2020. He now faces up to one year in jail and will be forced to register as a sex offender once he’s sentenced this winter.
According to WHEC, Neel is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 21, when he will also be required to register as a sex offender. The outlet reports the case dragged on for years before reaching a jury, a gap that Seneca County District Attorney John Nabinger addressed directly after the verdict. As reported by 13WHAM-TV, the case was handled out of Waterloo, New York.
“After 6 long years, Mr. Neel is finally facing justice,” Nabinger said, per the same account. The district attorney also praised the victim’s perseverance through the lengthy court process, saying her ability “to continue to stand up for herself for years, as the case goes through the court system, is simply put — brave.”
A Pattern Prosecutors Say Spans Years
This is not the first time Neel has been convicted of a crime against a child. The station’s report notes he previously served a one-year sentence in the Seneca County Jail after a 2023 conviction for endangering the welfare of a child, a case that involved a different child than the one at the center of this month’s verdict.
That 2023 conviction didn’t end with the trial court. New York’s Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, unanimously affirmed the judgment in 2025, according to court records published by FindLaw. The appellate panel rejected Neel’s sole argument on appeal, which was that the verdict had gone against the weight of the evidence.
Earlier Case Ended With a Mistrial and a Plea
Neel’s history with Seneca County courts goes back further still. The Finger Lakes Times reported that Neel was arrested by Seneca Falls police in February 2021 following an investigation that began the month before. A judge, Daniel Doyle, later declared a mistrial in that earlier case after a legal conflict arose between Neel and his attorney, with the district attorney’s office saying at the time it intended to retry the case, though no date had been set.
That earlier matter ultimately ended with Neel pleading guilty to felony third-degree rape after a jury had been seated for his second trial, the Finger Lakes Times reported separately. He was expected to be sentenced to two to four years in prison and required to register as a sex offender, and a court order of protection was issued for the victim in that case.
Prosecutor Urges Other Victims to Come Forward
Assistant District Attorney Kelly Wolford also spoke about the case, describing the young woman’s decision to come forward as incredible. Wolford said the victim “has endured much” and that she hopes the verdict helps her heal, while also urging other sexual assault victims who are afraid to come forward to know that they matter and that their experiences matter.
Under New York Penal Law § 130.52, the statute defining forcible touching includes conduct such as squeezing, grabbing or pinching under the circumstances described in the law, according to the New York State Senate. The exact statutory subsection tied to Neel’s conviction and the specific sentence he will ultimately receive remain to be determined at his December sentencing.
