ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man appeared at the Carnahan Courthouse on Monday and admitted to sexually assaulting two girls he met online.

According to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, Adrian Neal, 20, pleaded guilty to statutory rape, two counts of statutory sodomy, kidnapping, and child molestation. He entered the guilty plea just days before the scheduled start of his trial.

Neal had been charged last year. Prosecutors said Neal met the victims, both 12 years old, on the social media app SnapChat in August 2021. He later picked them up and brought them to his home or another location, where he sexually assaulted them.

Prosecutors said Neal also took one of the victim’s phones, so she couldn’t call for help. That girl told police that Neal refused to take her home and instead raped her in his car.

A St. Louis Circuit Court judge sentenced Neal to 20 years in prison for his crimes.

Neal also has a pending case in St. Louis County Circuit Court for a September 2021 incident in which he allegedly refused to let a woman exit his vehicle and then touched her inappropriately. That trial is currently scheduled for February 2024.