An inmate at the federal prison in Pekin was sentenced to an additional four years last week for being in possession of contraband that included child pornography.
Joseph Nichols, 42, of Nashville, Tennessee, had been convicted in 2016 for possession and distribution of child pornography and received an 18-year prison sentence and was transferred to Pekin’s Federal Correctional Institution in June 2025. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois, staff found a razor blade and child sexual abuse materials located in a hearing aid case with his name on it when he arrived at the prison last year.
Nichols pleaded guilty to two counts of contraband possession in March, with the additional four-year sentence being handed down last Thursday by U.S. Central District Court Judge Jonathan Hawley.
Nichols’ sentence will be served consecutively with his original sentence for child pornography. He had been facing up to five years in prison for possession of the child pornography as contraband and a six-month sentence for possession of the razor blade.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Pekin inmate gets extra time for prison contraband
Reporting by Zach Roth, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Zach Roth, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
