County man handed 35 years in prison in child pornography
Published 12:12 pm Wednesday, August 18, 2010
A Warren County man who admitted possessing and producing child pornography and has been indicted locally on 10 additional counts of child sexual crimes was sentenced Tuesday to spend 35 years in prison, a spokesman with the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Bryan Blake Neihaus, 22, 452 Tilton Ranch Road, pleaded guilty in federal court in June to two counts of possession of child pornography and four counts of production of child pornography. He was arrested in January after an investigation by FBI agents resulted in images being found on his computer.
Neihaus was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Natchez by U.S. District Court Judge David Bramlette to two concurrent 10-year terms and four concurrent 25-year terms, said Sheila Wilbanks, spokesman for the Jackson district of the U.S. Attorney. In addition, Neihaus was fined $1,500 and is subject to a restitution assessment at a later date, Wilbanks said.
Also sentenced Tuesday by Bramlette in a related federal case was John Crumpler, 32, who lived at 2957 Mount Alban Road when he was arrested by FBI agents and charged with enticing and filming a minor for sexual purposes.
Bramlette sentenced Crumpler to 15 years in prison, said a spokesman with the judge’s office. Crumpler was also assessed a $1,500 fine and, upon release, will be supervised for life, the spokesman said.
Both men were taken into the custody of the U.S. Marshals, but it was not immediately known where they would be imprisoned.
The FBI’s investigation resulted in a search warrant served on Crumpler’s home, where Neihaus lived for a period of time. The warrant included Neihaus’ personal computer, which revealed numerous videos and images of child pornography including videos of both Crumpler and Neihaus with preteen children, authorities said.
From Warren County’s separate investigation, Neihaus faces multiple life terms if convicted of the charges for which he was indicted in May by the grand jury. The charges are six counts of sexual battery of a child under the age of 13; two counts of molesting a child under the age of 16; and two counts of child pornography depicting or recording a child under the age of 18 engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Offenses were said to have occurred between May 2007 and August 2008 and involved the same victim.
At his arraignment, a Nov. 15 trial was set, and he is to appear Friday before Judge Isadore Patrick in Warren County Circuit Court for a hearing related to his case.
“Regardless of what the federal court has done, and Neihaus’ sentence, we still anticipate going forward and prosecuting him for the crimes he was indicted for,” said District Attorney Ricky Smith.
Neihaus faces a possible life sentence for each of the sexual battery charges, 40 years for each filming charge and 10 years for each count of molestation.