Who is Lori Wickelhaus? '16 And Pregnant' star and mom-of-three jailed over child pornography
CAMPBELL COUNTY, KENTUCKY: A former star of MTV reality show '16 And Pregnant' has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for over child pornography charges. Lori Wickelhaus from Kentucky was arrested in June last year and charged on 20 counts for possession of porn involving a minor. In September 2020, she had pled not guilty to the charges, but she reportedly switched her plea to guilty in May 2021. The 29-year-old mother- of-three has been in custody since June 30 without bond.
Wickelhaus was featured in the second season of the MTV reality show in 2009 when she was 17-years-old. At that time, she got pregnant with her then-boyfriend Cory Haskett and gave birth to her son Aidan Elliot Benson on December 16, 2009. Aidan was soon given up for adoption to a family. The teen mom later had two more children — daughter Rylynn Jo in 2013 and son Logan in 2014 — with former fiance Joey Amos.
READ MORE
The Season 2 episode of '16 And Pregnant' featuring Wickelhaus showed her life in Fort Thomas, Kentucky as a pregnant teenager. The episode dealt with differing opinions from her family and friends on whether to give her child up for adoption or not. It also showed her own emotional struggles in coming to terms with the circumstances. After one couple turned away Wickelhaus at the last minute, she is devastated. But eventually, she gave her son up for adoption to another couple.
The arrest warrant against Wickelhaus was issued on August 13, 2020, following a tip-off to Kentucky State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The informant claimed that "an unknown subject" has uploaded media depicting child pornography onto their dropbox account. Soon, the police officials obtained a search warrant and seized her iPhone and Laptop. They confiscated her laptop where the illegal child pornography was discovered.
She was arrested and charged on 20 counts but released soon afterward on a $10,000 bond. The former reality star reportedly disappeared from social media completely after that. This time, she was arrested again in June 2021 for contempt of court. After pleading guilty, Wickelhaus will be serving a sentence of 6.5 years at the Campbell County Detention Center. She will also undergo mental health counseling as part of her plea deal.