Fussell pleads not guilty

Lucas Allen Fussell, the former Eastern Shore Rural Health nurse practitioner who was indicted late last month by a federal grand jury on two counts of distributing child pornography, entered pleas of not guilty to the accusations Tuesday in U.S. District Court in D.C.

The prosecution and defense agreed to “the exclusion of (a) speedy trial” for 30 days in the interest of justice in a hearing before Judge Rudolph Contreras.

The bond status for 42-year-old Fussell, of Onley, did not change. He continues to be held by federal authorities. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for September.

A federal grand jury indicted the 12-year veteran of Rural Health in late July. He was fired just after being arrested at his Coastal Boulevard home in a 15-officer-strong FBI raid.

Before that, he was allegedly caught sending sexually explicit materials depicting children to an undercover police officer posing as a pedophile.

It was unclear from court records if he is still on a medical watch.

On June 22, 2024, the first indictment alleges, Fussell distributed two digital video files containing men having sex with prepubescent boys, and four digital image files depicting boys in lascivious exhibitions “via an end-to-end encrypted messaging application.”