Wetzel County Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Child Pornography Charge
Wednesday, July 23, 2025, 7:15 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
WHEELING, W.VA.- A 61-year-old Paden City, West Virginia, man, will be facing up to 20 years in federal prison, after pleading guilty on Tuesday, to possessing digital images and video files depicting the sexual exploitation and abuse of children contained in media files stored on his cellular phone.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, Robert Lee Lemasters, 61, of Paden City, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone to one count of Possession of Child Pornography.
Following entering his guilty plea, Judge Mazzone accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for a time and date to be determined by the U.S. District Court. At that time, Lemasters faces up to 20 years in federal prison, with a minimum term of at least five years and a maximum term of up to a lifetime of supervised release, as well as a fine of up to $250,000. At sentencing, a U.S. District Court Judge will determine the term of imprisonment based on the seriousness of the offense and Lemasters’ prior criminal history.
Probation Officers Find Child Porn On Lemasters’ Cell Phone
According to the charging information filed with the District Court, law enforcement officials received a tip that Lemasters, who was at the time serving a term of supervised release for a prior felony conviction, was storing media files containing child pornography on his cellular phone. Federal Probation Officers conducted a search of his cellular phone and located digital images and video files depicting the sexual exploitation and abuse of prepubescent and pubescent children.
Acting U.S. Attorney Bernard commended the investigative work of the U.S. Probation Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which led to Lemasters’ guilty plea on Tuesday.
