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West Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Sexual Abuse Material

Justin L. Wiegand, 34, of Kenova, pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography, admitting to purchasing over 50 gigabytes of CSAM and recording a minor undressing.

2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 20, 2026, 1:07 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 20, 2026, 1:22 p.m. ET
Justin L. Wiegand, 34, of Kenova, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on August 10, 2026, to receipt of child pornography, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The plea was announced by the Justice Department's Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. According to court documents and statements made in court, in December 2023, Wiegand contacted a user on an instant messaging app who offered options for purchasing videos and links to files depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including options labeled "Cp," "Kids," and "Young Girls." Wiegand admitted to ordering a package containing approximately 160 videos and links to four folders with over 50 gigabytes of CSAM, paying $25 via an online payments system. He further admitted to purchasing CSAM from the same and other users on at least eight other occasions between December 2023 and January 2025, and to setting up a hidden camera in a bathroom at his residence to record a video of an approximately 10-year-old girl undressing and showering. Wiegand was previously of two counts of third-degree sexual assault in Wayne County Circuit Court on May 5, 2023, and admitted that his victim in that case is the approximately 14-year-old girl depicted in some of the CSAM found on his private cloud storage service. He was serving a term of home confinement for those convictions at the time of the current offense. Sentencing is scheduled for November 23. Wiegand faces a minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The case was investigated by the Diplomatic Security Service with assistance from HSI and the West Virginia State Police, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon of the Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 20, 2026, 1:07 p.m. ETFirst report

    West Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Sexual Abuse Material

    Justin L. Wiegand, 34, of Kenova, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on Aug. 10, 2026, to receipt of child pornography, the Justice Department announced. According to court documents and statements made in court, in December 2023, Wiegand contacted a user on an instant messaging app who provided options for purchasing videos and links to files depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Wiegand admitted that he ordered a package that included approximately 160 videos and links to four folders containing over 50 gigabytes of CSAM, and that he paid $25 via an online payments system. He also admitted to purchasing CSAM from the same and other users on at least eight other occasions between December 2023 and January 2025.

    Wiegand further admitted that he set up a hidden camera in a bathroom at his residence and recorded a video of an approximately 10-year-old girl undressing and taking a shower. He also possessed numerous images and videos of CSAM on his cell phones, including depictions of prepubescent minors engaged in sexual intercourse and oral sex with adults. Wiegand was previously convicted of two counts of third-degree sexual assault in Wayne County Circuit Court on May 5, 2023, and admitted that his victim in that case is the approximately 14-year-old girl depicted in some of the CSAM. He also admitted that he was serving a term of home confinement for those convictions at the time of his current offense.

    Wiegand is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 23 and faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the West Virginia State Police. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald for the Southern District of West Virginia. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

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Revision history

  1. Version 120 Aug 2026, 17:22current

    First published.

  2. Version 120 Aug 2026, 17:07current

    First published.

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