Attorney pleads guilty to drug, child porn charges

Bill Gang

Friday, April 9, 1999 | 10:53 a.m.

Las Vegas attorney Nancy Estabrook pleaded guilty Thursday to felony charges of drug abuse and child pornography that could put her in prison for 11 years.

Estabrook, whose law license has been surrendered because of unspecified medical problems, pleaded guilty to possessing two videotapes of child pornography and being an accessory after the fact to the use of a minor in the production of pornography.

According to court records, the tapes show her ex-husband, Lee Estabrook, having sex with the woman's 9-year-old niece. The edited 1995 tapes found their way to authorities when Nancy Estabrook presented them as evidence during the couple's bitter divorce and court battle over their then-3-year-old child.

Lee Estabrook is in jail awaiting a May 10 trial on charges that could result in a life prison sentence. His attorney, Joe Houston, said Estabrook doesn't dispute that it is his image on the video but has maintained that Nancy Estabrook was the person behind the camera and is willing to testify against his ex-wife.

Nancy Estabrook's attorney, Steven Stein, said she adamantly maintains that she did not operate the video camera when the tapes were made.

A hand belonging to the camera operator could be seen in parts of the three- to four-minute taping, and the hand belonged to a woman, Deputy District Attorney Doug Herndon said.

But Lee Estabrook's word alone was not enough to justify felony charges against his wife, Herndon said.

The girl was not a help, the prosecutor noted, because she was drugged and claims to remember nothing.

Charges were filed, Herndon said, when a second witness surfaced who was willing to testify that Nancy Estabrook admitted being the one behind the camera.

As part of Nancy Estabrook's plea bargain, 10 charges alleging her involvement in the incident will be dismissed after she is sentenced on June 3. In the deal, prosecutors have agreed to make no recommendation about the sentence.

Meanwhile, Stein said, his client has been working to get her life back in order. She has been reinstated to Drug Court and is employed as a clerk for a lawyer.

Nancy Estabrook was sent to Drug Court in 1997 after pleading guilty to possessing a controlled substance. If she completes what is usually a yearlong program, it is expected the drug charges will be dismissed.