ONLEY, VA - Lucas Fussell, a former nurse practitioner in Onley, Virginia, has been accused of distributing child pornography. Investigators report that Fussell sent messages containing child pornography to an undercover FBI agent.
The news continues to disturb the small community where Fussell lived and worked. Fussell was employed at the Eastern Shore Rural Health System in Onley. According to investigators, Fussell also sent messages discussing intimate exams he performed.
Laura Guidry, a mother of one of Fussell's former patients, shared her reaction to the arrest. The FBI raided Fussell's home on Tuesday, arresting the 42-year-old.
"I knew that my son had been in his office several times," Guidry said. "Initially, I was shocked. First, I thought I was going to throw up because people were talking on social media about what he was charged with doing."
Guidry's son, now 18, saw Fussell for a little more than a year. "When I met him with my son the first time, he seemed very nice, very charming. My son seemed to feel good about seeing him," Guidry said.
Although her son never reported anything wrong, Guidry's trust in medical professionals has been shaken. "My concern was I know he had physicals with him... full physicals and I wasn't in the room. So my concern was, oh gosh, what exactly was done or said. I felt violated. Or just like a big trust was broken for me," she said.
Other patients from the practice share Guidry's shock. "Well, actually, I had two friends over that have him as their doctor and they were really concerned, and I am too. I'm a patient there, I go there," said Rick Kellogg.
The disturbing allegations have sent shockwaves through the Accomack community. Eastern Shore Rural Health Services has dismissed Fussell. He faces one charge of distribution of child pornography. His detention hearing is scheduled for tomorrow at federal court in Washington, D.C.
