ATLANTA — A former physician serving a 23-year federal prison sentence is facing new charges after authorities allegedly found child sexual abuse material on a contraband cellphone hidden under his pillow at an Atlanta prison.
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Justin Neisler, 38, of Denver, Colo., was arraigned Wednesday on two federal counts of possessing child sexual abuse material while incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Atlanta.
Neisler is one of four inmates facing charges stemming from an investigation into allegations that prisoners were sharing and selling child sexual abuse material inside the facility.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the investigation began in March 2026 after Federal Bureau of Prisons investigators uncovered inmates allegedly receiving, possessing and distributing the material among themselves.
Officials said inmates used contraband cellphones to search the dark web for child sexual abuse material. The images and videos were then downloaded onto SD cards removed from MP3 players.
Some of the material was allegedly printed using the prison library’s copy machine with an SD card reader. Investigators said some images were printed on the backs of religious materials.
Prosecutors said inmates then sold the material to other prisoners. Investigators also uncovered allegations that inmates sold obscene depictions of fictional children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
During the investigation, officials found 450 images and videos of child sexual abuse material at the prison.
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In addition to Neisler, three other inmates have been charged:
Dustin Bishop, 38, of Raleigh, NC: Accused of distributing child sexual abuse material. He was indicted Aug. 25 and arraigned Aug. 31.
Jacob Breslin, 34, of Merritt Island, Fla.: Accused of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. He was indicted July 28 and arraigned Aug. 7.
Harold Nuckols, 29, of Henrico, Virginia: Accused of possessing obscene depictions of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He was indicted July 28 and arraigned Aug. 7.
According to prosecutors, Bishop was already serving a 10-year sentence for receiving child sexual abuse material, Breslin was serving a 15-year sentence for possessing and receiving the material, and Nuckols was serving a sentence of more than four years for possessing child sexual abuse material.
Neisler, a former Denver-based physician, was serving a 23-year prison sentence for producing child sexual abuse material.
If convicted, Neisler and Nuckols face at least 10 years in prison, while Bishop and Breslin face at least 15 years. Any additional sentences could be ordered to run consecutively to the sentences they are already serving.
The FBI and Federal Bureau of Prisons investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. LaGrone is prosecuting it.
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