Former Nurse Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography and Conspiracy to Acquire Controlled Substances

Douglas Kelley, 67, from Sioux City, Iowa, pled guilty in federal court on August 17, 2023, to Possession of Child Pornography and Conspiracy to Acquire Controlled Substances by Fraud.

At the plea hearing, Kelley admitted that he knowingly possessed child pornography, including a depiction involving a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age.  Kelley further admitted he was previously convicted of offenses relating to the possession of child pornography in Buena Vista County, Iowa, in 1993.  In a plea agreement, Kelley admitted that he knowingly distributed fentanyl, and conspired to distribute amphetamine as well as conspired to obtain and acquire fentanyl by means of misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge.  Kelley was a nurse at MercyOne Hospital in Sioux City, Iowa, and used his position to obtain fentanyl and other controlled substances to illegally distribute to others.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Kelley was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  On the Possession of Child Pornography count, Kelley faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of no more than 20 years’ imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.  For the Conspiracy to Acquire Controlled Substances by Fraud count, Kelley faces not more than 4 years’ imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a $250,000 fine and up to 1 year of supervised release.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig Hamit and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Inspections & Appeals, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Sioux City Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 23-CR-4022.

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