A local nurse practitioner arrested last month for video voyeurism was arrested again Friday, Dec. 20, this time on charges of child pornography, according to Hempstead County Sheriff James A. Singleton.
Singleton said Justice Lee West, 30, of Blevins was arrested around 8 a.m. by Hempstead County investigators, who had seized West’s cellphone and executed a search warrant on the phone and his iCloud account. Singleton said investigators found images of nude juveniles depicting sexual contact with other juveniles.
West was arrested for three counts of distributing, possessing or viewing of matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child (a Class A felony for the first offense and Class B felony for subsequent offenses).
He was transported and booked on the new charges into the Hempstead County Detention Facility.
West was first arrested in November, 2019 after Hempstead County investigators concluded an investigation that began in Blevins in late October after a 14-year-old female reportedly discovered a camera while in a shower.
The teen reportedly discovered what later turned out to be a camera that was disguised as a cell phone charger plugged in a bathroom where she she showered.
At the time of his November arrest, West was employed as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse at the CHI St. Vincent clinic in Murfreesboro and had been placed on administrative leave pending without pay. The clinic was unavailable for comment concerning West’s employment status.
A spokesman for CHI St. Vincent told the newspaper in November he could not confirm when West began working in Murfreesboro, but released the following statement afternoon concerning West’s status with the clinic:
“Upon notification by authorities, CHI St. Vincent placed the employee in question on administrative leave without pay pending further investigation and continues to cooperate with local authorities. The safety and wellbeing of our employees, patients and visitors is our first priority and our healing ministry is committed to their security while in our facility and under our care.”
West has served as a past president of the Blevins School Board and is a first responder and member of the local volunteer fire department.
He is also a former Emergency Room nurse at Howard Memorial Hospital.
