ONLEY, Va. (WAVY) — A nurse practitioner on the Eastern Shore facing multiple child sexual abuse material charges was arrested in an FBI raid on Tuesday morning.
Lucas Allen Fussell, 42, was arrested at his house at 25527 Coastal Boulevard in Onley, according to court documents. He’s been charged with distribution of child pornography after authorities say he sent the materials to an FBI employee on June 22 and June 30.
Online records show Fussell was with Eastern Shore Rural Health since 2012, however Rural Health says Fussell was dismissed after his arrest and is no longer working with the health system.
“These criminal charges were a shock to all of us at Eastern Shore Rural Health. All our staff are
required to adhere to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct, and we condemn any contrary behavior,” said Jeannette Edwards, the CEO of Eastern Shore Rural Health Services.
Fussell also said he runs a separate “holistic health” business called Compassion In Care MCC, LLC.
Fussell’s arrest comes four months after another person was arrested by the FBI-MPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, a joint taskforce with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C.
Authorities got access to that person’s phone, and eventually found conversations on Session, an encrypted messing app, that they were able to link back to Fussell. The two first began messaging on the dating app Grindr, the criminal complaint explains, and Fussell used a VPN to try to evade detection.
The Session messages from December 20, 2023 to Feb. 7, 2024 included multiple videos and images containing child sexual abuse material, court documents show. Fussell also met up with the person from Session on December 29, 2023, and shared his address as 25527 Coastal Boulevard, authorities say.
Property records show Fussell bought the Onley home back in 2013 with another person, but records list Fussell as the sole owner of the home since 2021.
Based on the court documents, there’s no indication that the victims in the child sexual abuse material were Fussell’s patients. However, authorities say he shared multiple messages that described his patients in an explicit manner. In one conversation, he talks about one man who he allegedly had a sexual relationship with.
Here’s the full statement from Eastern Shore Rural Health:
Tuesday afternoon, the FBI informed me that a nurse practitioner employed by Eastern Shore Rural Health Services, Lucas Fussell, was arrested earlier that day on criminal charges of distribution of child pornography and taken into custody. We have dismissed Mr. Fussell, and he no longer works for Eastern Shore Rural Health. We are also closely coordinating with law enforcement.
These criminal charges were a shock to all of us at Eastern Shore Rural Health. All our staff are required to adhere to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct, and we condemn any contrary behavior.
We want to reassure our patients, their families, and the community at large that our top priority is the health, safety and security of all our patients.
All patients scheduled with Mr. Fussell will be contacted to reschedule with other Eastern Shore Rural Health providers.
Jeannette Edwards, CEO, Eastern Shore Rural Health Services
Rural Health has set up a call line for patients and others who have concerns following Fussell’s arrest: The number is 757-678-1523.