( CNN ) -- The son of an infamous CIA double agent who is himself accused of spying was released from jail Friday in Portland , Oregon , pending trial after a federal judge ruled he did not pose a flight risk . Nathaniel Nicholson , son of an infamous CIA double agent , faces his own spying charges . Judge Anna J . Brown ordered that Nathaniel Nicholson , 24 , can be freed provided he stay with family , not leave Oregon without permission from authorities and wear a GPS monitoring device . Brown also ordered that he not have any contact with his father , the admitted spy Harold James `` Jim '' Nicholson . The elder Nicholson pleaded guilty in 1997 to spying for Russia and is the highest ranking CIA officer ever to be sentenced for espionage . While serving a 23-year prison sentence , prosecutors allege , Jim Nicholson , 58 , restarted his career as a double agent and enlisted his son Nathaniel in his efforts to collect money owed to him by the Russian spy services and to sell more secrets . Both father and son were charged in January with acting as agents of a foreign government , money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering . They have pleaded not guilty . Court appointed lawyers representing the men did not return CNN 's calls for comment . According to the indictment , Nathaniel Nicholson made trips to California , Mexico , Peru and Cyprus , where he met with Russian government representatives who gave him payments totaling over $ 35,000 in cash . At his father 's request , Nathaniel Nicholson allegedly shared the money with his sister and grandparents . Nathaniel Nicholson had complained to his father that he and his sister were short of money to pay for college , prosecutors said . Jim Nicholson told his son that his alleged spying activities `` were 'risky ' but not 'illegal , ' '' the indictment said . According to court testimony , Nathaniel Nicholson , who is a former U.S. Army paratrooper , initially told authorities that he had traveled overseas to visit `` a battle buddy . '' The FBI agents informed Nicholson that lying to them was a federal crime and offered him a `` mulligan , '' or a chance to change his story , according to the agent 's testimony . At that point , FBI special agent John Cooney testified , Nicholson became more `` forthcoming '' about his meetings with Russians . If convicted , Jim and Nathaniel Nicholson could face up to 20 years in jail .
Nathaniel Nicholson , son of a CIA double agent , faces spying charges . A Portland , Oregon , judge releases him from prison , pending trial . His father , Robert Nicholson , pleaded guilty in 2005 to spying for CIA . While in prison , father allegedly enlisted son to secretly continue spy services .