Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offense

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – A Virginia man pleaded guilty today to production of child pornography.

According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, Nicholas Aaron Icenhour, 25, of Tazewell, Virginia admitted that in October and November 2020 he directed his then girlfriend, Lacosta Steele, to have a 12-year-old girl engage in sexually explicit conduct, including masturbation and the lascivious exhibition of her genitals, for the purpose of creating videos of this conduct. Icenhour admitted that Steele then sent those videos to him. Icenhour also admitted that during this same time frame he had Steele transport the same 12-year-old girl to R.D. Bailey Lake, where he engaged in sexual intercourse with the child.

Icenhour faces at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced on April 4, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is handling the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-00187.

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