Justin Neisler, a former physician already serving a 23-year federal sentence, was arraigned on two counts of possessing child sexual abuse material while locked up at the Federal Correctional Institution in Atlanta. He is the fourth inmate at the prison indicted this year in connection with child pornography found inside the facility, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia confirmed the arraignment, saying Neisler was charged while incarcerated at FCI Atlanta. As reported by CBS News Atlanta, investigators said Neisler is now facing the new charges even as he continues serving time for an earlier conviction.
Investigation Traces Back to March
Prosecutors said the broader investigation into contraband and child sexual abuse material at FCI Atlanta began in March, per the CBS News Atlanta report. That probe led to indictments earlier this year against three other inmates: Dustin Bishop, 38; Jacob Breslin, 34; and Harold Nuckles, 39, all of whom were indicted in August on similar charges, according to the station's reporting.
Investigators said Bishop and another inmate used contraband cell phones to download child sexual abuse material from the dark web, storing it on SD cards pulled from MP3 players. The pair then allegedly used a smuggled SD-card reader and the prison library's copy machine to print the material, and authorities said Bishop and the other inmate sold the printed copies to fellow inmates. The printed material allegedly included depictions of fictional underage Disney characters being sexually assaulted, per the same account.
Phone Found Under Neisler's Pillow
Investigators said they discovered around 450 child sexual abuse images and videos inside the prison as part of the case. Among the evidence described by authorities: a cell phone containing child sexual abuse material that was found under Neisler's pillow.
Neisler is already serving a 23-year sentence for producing similar material, officials said. That earlier case dates back to his arrest in March 2019, when he was accused of secretly videotaping nude boys during physical examinations, according to NBC News. He pleaded guilty to production of child pornography in January and was sentenced to the 23-year term, the outlet reported. If convicted on the new charges, Neisler faces at least 10 more years in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutor Vows Continued Prison Enforcement
Theodore S. Hertzberg said the alleged conduct showed incarceration did not stop the men from continuing to harm children. “Prison bars allegedly did not stop these defendants from re-victimizing innocent children for their perverted and depraved gratification,” Hertzberg said, according to CBS News Atlanta's report.
Hertzberg also said contraband cell phones pose a clear risk to public safety and that his office will keep arresting and prosecuting inmates who commit new crimes while in custody, seeking additional prison time where warranted. The case fits into a pattern federal officials have flagged nationally: the Federal Bureau of Prisons has described contraband phones, along with drugs and weapons, as a growing threat inside federal institutions, with Director William K. Marshall III outlining steps meant to protect staff, inmates, and the public, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Contraband phones have fueled other serious cases well beyond Atlanta. In one instance, an Oklahoma inmate used a smuggled cellphone to sexually exploit and coerce a 12-year-old South Florida child into producing child sexual abuse material, a crime that ultimately brought a life sentence, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Southern District of Florida.
