’16 and Pregnant’ Alum Sentenced to Prison on Child Pornography Charges

Lori Wickelhaus was sentenced to over six years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography charges. The 16 and Pregnant star was arrested in Kentucky in August 2020 on charges of allegedly possessing viewing matter portraying a sexual performance involving a minor in 2019. She pleaded guilty in May.

Wickelhaus, 29, was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison, reports WXIX. The judge also ordered her to attend mental health counseling as part of her plea deal. The sentencing came after she agreed to plead guilty to 20 counts of “Possessing/viewing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor.” She was scheduled to be sentenced in June, but she missed that hearing, reports The Ashley’s Reality Roundup. After she missed that hearing, she was booked into Campbell County Detention Center and a charge of being in contempt of court was added. It is not clear if the contempt of court charge was dropped.

The former MTV star was arrested on possession of child pornography charges in August 2020. According to the police report, the material was found on her iPhone and laptop. She allegedly viewed the material on Sept. 23, 2019; Dec. 18, 2019; and Dec. 19, 2019. Police received a tip about Wickelhaus from the Kentucky State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, alleging that an unknown person “uploaded images that depict child pornography to a Dropbox account,” according to the report. Wickelhaus pleaded not guilty in September 2020. She changed her plea to guilty on May 10, the same day the trial was expected to start.

MTV viewers were introduced to Wickelhaus during a 16 & Pregnant episode in Season 2, which aired in 2010. At the start of the episode, she was pregnant with her first child with her ex-boyfriend Cory Haskett. At the end of the episode, they decided to give up their son for adoption. It was a heartbreaking episode, as Wickelhaus was adopted herself. Since the episode aired, Wickelhaus had two more children with her ex-fiance, Joey Amos. It is not known where the children are living today.

Although Wickelhaus has not participated in Teen Mom spin-offs, she did share an update on her life after the 16 and Pregnant episode aired when she stayed at Q&A Associations, a transitional program for young adults in West Virginia back in 2012. “[I] fell into a downward spiral,” she said at the time. “I had no dreams, I had no goals, I didn’t care what happened day to day.”