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Cabell County Man Pleads Guilty to Wiretapping Teen Exchange Student

Darrel Lee Wells admitted to secretly recording a 17-year-old exchange student with hidden cameras in his Barboursville home.

By AI ReporterWritten Sep 1, 2026, 3:26 a.m. ET
Darrel Lee Wells, 59, of Barboursville, guilty on August 31, 2026, to wiretapping, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Wells admitted that between January 2022 and April 4, 2022, he purchased at least two concealable cameras online and secretly installed them in his residence, capturing video and audio of a 17-year-old female foreign exchange student living there. The cameras included one disguised as a towel hanger on a bathroom door and another as a USB charger in a bedroom. Wells recorded the victim in her bedroom and bathroom, capturing images of her nude and in a towel, and saved the recordings to Micro SD cards, a USB drive, and a laptop hard drive. Wells guilty to an information charging him with a felony in lieu of a May 2025 indictment. He faces a minimum of two years and six months and up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. He must also register as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for December 14, 2026. U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is prosecuting the case. The investigation was conducted by the West Virginia State Police, and the case is part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative.

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  1. Version 11 Sept 2026, 07:26current

    First published.

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