A former Virginia youth pastor who was convicted of two counts of soliciting sex acts from a minor over the internet in 2014 has pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography online in April.
Main photo: Deric Peacock / Virginia State Police
Court documents state that Deric Wallace Peacock, 39, of Highland Springs, Virginia, used Wickr, an encrypted messaging service, to distribute child pornography last spring using an account called “vapastor.”
WRLC-TV reported that investigators were able to link to Peacock’s account at least two specific videos portraying child sexual abuse that he sent to other predators, including one involving a child under the age of seven.
Peacock was on probation for the two prior convictions at the time, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Peacock was the children, youth, and discipleship pastor at the Church of God of South Hopewell but was suspended when the 2014 charges were brought against him.
In that case, Peacock was arrested after using messaging app Kik Messenger and Skype to communicate with what he thought was a 12-year-old girl, including sending pictures of his genitals, when he was actually communicating with undercover police officers, The Chesterfield Observer reported in 2014.
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The recent case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Peacock is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 24, 2023. Due to his prior conviction, he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 40 years in prison.