Virginia nurse to spend over seven years in prison for distributing child pornography

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A former Nurse Practitioner (NP) was sentenced Wednesday after he was convicted of distributing videos depicting the rape and sexual abuse of young boys, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) announced.

Lucas Allen Fussell, 43, of Olney, Va., pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography in mid-December 2024.

Fussell reportedly used an encrypted messaging application to send and receive videos and photos depicting the sexual exploitation of prepubescent boys with another person.

He had been working as a nurse practitioner and also discussed many of his male patients — several of whom were children — in these messages. He also boasted about the “sophisticated technological measures he took to evade detection by law enforcement,” the USAO noted.

The FBI got a hold of the other person’s cellphone, and in June of 2024, Fussell sent an undercover officer nine videos depicting the exploitation of young boys.

He was arrested the following month and has been detained ever since.

Fussell was sentenced on Sept. 10 to 87 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.