Former Nurse Practitioner Indicted in D.C. on Charges of Distribution of Child Pornography

WASHINGTON - Lucas Allen Fussell, 42, of Onley, Virginia, was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges of distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott, of the Washington Field Office's Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

The indictment, unsealed today, alleges that on June 22, 2024, and again on June 30, 2024, Fussell, a former nurse practitioner, distributed numerous image and video files depicting adult men engaged in sexual intercourse with prepubescent minor boys.

According to court documents, between December 20, 2023, and February 7, 2024, Fussell used an anonymous account on an end-to-end encrypted messaging application to exchange videos and images containing child pornography with another individual whose phone was later seized and searched by the FBI pursuant to a search warrant. In the course of those conversations, Fussell shared details that revealed his identity. Those details included his home address, a description of his vehicle, and numerous comments about examining the genitals of patients-some as young as 11 years old-that he saw in the course of his work as a nurse practitioner. In June 2024, an undercover agent with the FBI-MPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force used the seized phone to respond to a message from Fussell on the end-to-end encrypted messaging app. On June 22, 2024, and again on June 30, 2024, Fussell sent the undercover agent numerous images and videos depicting the rape and sexual abuse of prepubescent boys.

On July 16, 2024, the FBI executed a search warrant at Fussell's residence in Onley, Virginia, and seized numerous encrypted electronic devices. Fussell was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint and arrest warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He has remained detained ever since.

Distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment and a statutory maximum of 20 years' imprisonment. The statutory sentences for federal offenses are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes. Any sentence will be determined by the Court based on the advisory Sentencing Guideline and other statutory factors.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and MPD's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI Norfolk Field Office, the Accomack County Sheriff's Office, the Onley Police Department, CEOS's High Technology Investigative Unit, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul V. Courtney of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

Anyone with additional information about Fussell's alleged conduct is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or to submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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