Update: The Prosecution of Psychiatrist Dr. Alan Beitel

We have an update on the prosecution of psychiatrist Allan Beitel. Essentially, the charges were dropped for a number of practical reasons as seen in the article below.

1. He wasn't going to get anymore jail time than what he had already served while waiting for trial, and
2. the victim was moving out of the country, and would not be available to give testimony.

These circumstances are not a clean verdict such as acquittal, and leaves a cloud of suspicion over the doctor's head. This is also not a clean statement of innocence by the prosecutor, although the original charges were a little convoluted. The psychiatrist still faces other criminal charges, according to the report. As reported in The Hamilton Spectator.

Charges of accessing and possessing child pornography against a psychiatrist who formerly practised in Hamilton and Burlington have been stayed by the Crown.

Dr. Allan Beitel, who now practices in Toronto, had been facing the charges since 2003.

The Crown also stayed a charge of possession of stolen property and two counts of failing to comply against Beitel.

The Crown's prosecutor concluded that it was no longer in the public's interest to continue prosecution of the case, according to a spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General.

"Even if Dr. Beitel had been found guilty of all charges, it was unlikely that he would serve a single additional day in jail beyond the time he had already served in pre-trial custody," the spokes-person indicated.

"Given that completing the trial would have required significant amounts of additional court time and resources, the Crown concluded that it was not in the public interest to continue."

Beitel had spent a number of months in custody last year related to other charges.

A charge of sexual assault against Beitel has also been withdrawn by the Crown after concluding there was no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction.

"The victim was moving out of the country and would not be returning for the trial," the ministry spokesperson indicated.

Beitel is still facing a number of other charges, including perjury, fraud under $5,000, two counts of theft under $5,000 and six counts of fail to comply with a recognizance.

Beitel remains an active member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, with no past disciplinary findings against him.

UPDATE: see also this Blog Post by David Akin

Psychiatrist charged with child pornography

From the St Tammany News

A Covington psychiatrist whose years of philanthropic work was recently recognized for an "Angel Among us Award" fell from grace Wednesday after he was arrested and charged with 107 counts of child pornography.

Dr. Steve Martin Taylor, 68, of 420 First Ave. E. in Covington, was arrested Wednesday by at least three armed St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies outside his home.

“I never would have guessed this,” said Judy Bird, a neighbor who watched the events unfold, her mouth dropping, hands on her face. “He just seems like such a friendly, good neighbor.”

Taylor, whose volunteer work included caring for 300 special needs patients in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and founding a suicide prevention organization in St. Tammany, was still in jail this afternoon in lieu of a $100,000 bond.

Seizing Taylor’s computer, deputies found the 107 images of children under the age of 17, Sheriff Jack Strain said in a press release. No evidence indicates any of the children were local victims, Strain said.

"I live here and have children here, and I know people look at this and are shocked," Strain said. "There’s no evidence to support this individual was taking advantage of children."

"This should send a clear message to any other member of the community, if you do this in St. Tammany you will get caught," he added.

Strain would not comment on what led to the investigation.

Taylor was set to receive the Angels Among Us Award, better known as the Hospice Foundation of the South’s Connie M. Husley Community Volunteer award, at a ceremony April 24. The event has since been canceled.

Taylor, a contract employee who performed emergency psychiatric commitment referrals for the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office, was also vice-chairman of the State Mental Health Advocacy Service and a member of the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Ethics Committee.

[...]

Pfizer Executive Faces Charges In Child Porn Probe

As reported in The Day Pfizer is well known as a manufacturer of many medications, including psychiatric drugs.

Federal agents have charged Pfizer Inc.'s global patent director with receiving, distributing and possessing child pornography and are holding him without bond.

Alan Hesketh, 61, of 202 Montauk Ave., Stonington, is accused of posing as a 28-year-old female while trading hundreds of images of children engaged in sexual acts.

He allegedly traded the images with a man from Buffalo, N.Y., while chatting with him online between June 2006 and May 2007.

The two men discussed, “among other things, the sexual molestation of children involving the use of human defecation,” according to a court document.

Hesketh allegedly used the screen name “Suzibibaby” during the online sessions.

Federal agents found he signed on as “Suzibibaby” from his home in Stonington and from several other Internet addresses, including one registered to Pfizer in New York and another at the Tudor Hotel at the United Nations, where he was a guest for three days in December 2007.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Hesketh at JFK International Airport in New York on Wednesday.

Hesketh is a British citizen and a permanent resident of the United States, where he has lived since 2002. It did not appear he was trying to flee the country at the time of his arrest, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office.

Hesketh was presented in U.S. District Court in Hartford on Thursday, where Judge Donna F. Martinez scheduled a bond hearing for Monday afternoon.

Pfizer spokeswoman Liz Power said Thursday that Hesketh, whose office is in New London, is on a leave of absence from the company.

“Pfizer will cooperate with authorities in any investigation,” she said.

Hesketh is the company's vice president and global head of patents, which is a part of the legal division of Pfizer Inc.

According to an affidavit prepared by Special Agent Jason P. Dragon, an investigation that began in Buffalo in June 2007 led authorities to Hesketh.

Federal agents suspected Buffalo resident Gregory Nadolski of sharing and receiving images of child pornography via the Google “hello” file-sharing program, which enables users to share digital images with one another while chatting online.

The authorities seized two computers from Nadolski, who admitted to possessing child pornography and trading images online using the screen name “mrko9850.”

Nadolski's computer contained 27 “hello” chat logs between the screen names “mrko9850” and “Suzibibaby” — Hesketh's alleged screen name. The two shared more than 1,000 images, many of which appeared to contain child pornography.

The Buffalo office on Feb. 22 turned over a disk containing the images and video files to Dragon, the Hartford agent.

Dragon prepared a 40-page affidavit, dated March 26, that requests a judge's permission to search the Montauk Avenue, Stonington, home where Hesketh resides with Jan Hesketh and to seize Hesketh's computer. It was unclear Thursday evening whether the search has been conducted.

The affidavit contains the text of a “hello” chat conversation that allegedly took place between Hesketh and Nadolski in the early-morning hours of April 24, 2007. The two sent 85 photos back and forth to one another while carrying on an explicit discussion involving babies, feces and sexual acts.

At one point, “Suzibibaby” sent “mrko9850” a picture of “herself.” The pictured depicted a 25- to 30-year-old woman, according to the court document.

As a defendant in a federal court case, Hesketh is entitled to have the case presented to a grand jury. If he is indicted and convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and maximum term of 20 years for receiving and distributing child pornography and a maximum of 10 years in prison for possession of child porn. He also faces as much as $500,000 in fines.

Hesketh is being prosecuted as part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

Child Porn Arrests in Australia-wide Operation Snare Psychologist

This is obviously a very big story in Australia. See these reports from the Herald Sun and the Courier Times, among others, as well as this original report from the Australian Federal Police. No names are available identifying the arrested culprits.

A forensic psychologist is among those arrested in the largest child pornography investigation ever by Australian Federal Police.

More than a million images were seized during the six-month Operation Irenic, including pictures of infants being raped, abused and tortured.

Australia-wide, 24 men were arrested including a former police officer and a teacher, ranging in age from 30 to 70.

Suspects include a forensic psychologist, a sales assistant and an RSPCA worker.

More than 100 police were involved in the investigation which identified one child as being at risk, resulting in its removal from harm.

"The child was at times in the presence of a person who had been downloading child abuse images and it's our understanding that that individual was actively preparing this child for abuse," said AFP acting Assistant Commissioner Kevin Zuccato.

He said investigations were far from complete and what had been discovered so far was "the tip of the iceberg".

"With these types of investigations we don't stop at just arresting the people who download the images," he said.

"Our main objective is to identify everybody that we possibly can involved in these type of offences and working internationally to bring those people to justice and hold them to account."

He praised the way in which police services from across Australia co-operated throughout the investigation.

"This shows that offenders who try to remain anonymous by using the internet to commit offences can and will be caught."

The operation had led to the arrests earlier this week of seven men who have already appeared before courts in NSW and Victoria, bringing the total alleged Australian offenders to 31.

Over the weekend police in NSW and Victoria raided eight properties, making a series of arrests and seizing computers containing thousands of images.

Days later, AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty promised more arrests as part of an ongoing international operation.

Psychologist who evaluated sex offenders resigns over child pornography

Seen in the American Chronicle. As the seamy side of psychiatry becomes more well-known, practitioners are starting to get nervous.

A psychologist in North Dakota who conducted sex offender evaluations for the state has resigned over a self-admitted child pornography compulsion. Joseph Belanger had run the state's Sexually Dangerous Individual (SDI) civil commitment program. In that capacity, he evaluated sex offenders and testified in court that they were sexually dangerous and should remain hospitalized.

It was unknown what triggered the investigation against Dr. Belanger, but Homeland Security officials recently seized his home computer, according to the Forum newspaper in Fargo, ND.

Dr. Belanger had worked for the state hospital for more than 20 years.

He is at least the second forensic psychologist this year to be tarnished by accusations of sexual deviancy.

In July, prominent forensic psychologist Stuart Greenberg killed himself after being arrested on suspicion of voyeurism; he had allegedly secretly videotaped a woman in his office bathroom. Greenberg was known for his expertise in child custody evaluations, but he was also a consultant for the Archdiocese of Seattle in sex abuse cases.

In addition to their connections with the burgeoning sex offender industry, another commonality in these cases in that both men allegedly used modern technology to further their deviant interests - Greenberg using a concealed video camera and Belanger using the Internet.

[...]

What is relevant to the field of forensic psychology, however, is that the revelations will likely cause scrutiny of cases in which the two men were involved as expert psychologists. This scrutiny is already occurring in Greenberg's case, with parents protesting unfavorable child custody court decisions that were based in part upon his opinions. In King County (Seattle), the presiding judge anticipated a flurry of legal challenges to cases in which Greenberg was a court-appointed evaluator. Although Greenberg's arrest would not be sufficient to reopen a case, a parent could argue bias if Greenberg's custody recommendations hinged on a parent's sexuality. Similar challenges by civilly committed sex offenders evaluated or treated by Belanger in North Dakota can be anticipated.

[...]

Child psychologist arrested for kiddie porn freed on bail

From the NY Daily News

The child psychologist arrested after cops found a cache of child pornography in his Manhattan apartment was freed Friday on $3,500 bail, according to court records.

But Dr. James Bonczek's neighbors in Stuyvesant Town said he hasn't been seen since he was hauled off in handcuffs at 9 a.m. Thursday.

"He's a sick man. Parents trusted him. His practice was with children, mostly boys. Everybody trusted him," fumed 32-year-old Lisa Rodriguez, an ex-neighbor.

Bonczek graduated from a Columbia University graduate school in 1980 and is a child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapist, according to an online biography found on Psychology Today. He is quoted in the biography as saying, "Most of my patients are children or families with behavioral problems."

The Suicide of a Former Psychologist Facing Child Pornography Charges

From this Press-Register News Report

A former north Alabama psychologist facing child pornography charges and his wife were identified Saturday as the couple who killed themselves Friday underneath a Gulf-front home in Baldwin County.

Michael Stephen Cometa, 59, and Keri Cometa, 45, of Trenton, Ga., died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds under the stilted duplex along Fort Morgan Road, according to Baldwin County Sheriff's Office spokesman Anthony Lowery.

Earlier that day, Michael Cometa failed to appear for an arraignment hearing in Huntsville's Madison County Circuit Court, said his attorney, Larry Morgan.

Cometa was accused of videotaping a nude 16-year-old girl in his office, Morgan said.

A report in The Huntsville Times, citing the indictment, stated that the girl was under 16, and police said she was a client.

Cometa was indicted in 2004 on six counts of producing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography, according to online court records. The charges did not allege that Cometa had touched the girl in a sexual nature, Morgan said.

Cometa was free on bail pending his Oct. 29 trial, in which he faced life in prison, according to the attorney.

In March, after a bank foreclosed on Cometa's Huntsville home and he filed for bankruptcy, he and his wife moved to Georgia, and he did not renew his license to practice psychology, Morgan said.

"His life was absolutely turned upside down as a result of the whole incident," Morgan said. "He couldn't practice. His home was foreclosed. His wife was seriously ill."

Michael Cometa was the sole provider for his wife, and "if he had gone to prison, there would be nobody there for her," Morgan said.

Morgan said his client "was very remorseful and very contrite" over the charges he faced.

Cometa's previous wife committed suicide in 2003, Morgan said.

On the Web site TherapistRatings.com, where people can anonymously review therapists, three comments were about Cometa. One was positive.

Another, posted by a 21-year-old named Courtney from Huntsville, said she started seeing Cometa when she was 16.

"He kept telling me I should be a model," Courtney wrote. "To make a long story short, one year later I am being called ... (by) an investigator to look at pictures of girls to see if I recognize them."

On Friday, a witness reported hearing two loud blasts, and the bodies were discovered at about 5 p.m. Inside a Jeep Grand Cherokee parked near the bodies, the couple left separate notes that indicated their suicide intentions, according to Lowery.

Investigators found two shotguns at the scene.

There was nothing to suggest the couple had ties to south Alabama, Lowery said. The two were not renting the vacation home.

Of course, following a old tasteless joke www.TherapistRatings.com can also be read as www.TheRapistRatings.com. This follows in the path of other unfortunate web site names

Psych Professor resigns University position in child porn case fallout

John Caruso, 35, a University of Montana psychology professor, has submitted his letter of resignation to the University last week following the outrage that came with his arrest for child pornography. According to Deputy County Attorney Kirsten LaCroix, investigators are determining whether any of the pornography found on Caruso’s computer hard drive and zip disks involve children from his neighborhood. As seen in the story:

On May 29, Caruso found his apartment burglarized and reported missing a black Dell laptop computer, film, a small amount of money and eight Sony PlayStation games, according to the court affidavit.

Later, in an unrelated incident on June 5, authorities responded to a disturbance call in Caruso’s neighborhood from two parents complaining about their children’s activities. While questioning one of the children, a 14 year-old girl, officials made reference to Caruso’s stolen laptop. The girl admitted to burglarizing Caruso’s apartment with the help of her 13-year-old brother, according to the affidavit.

The children told officials that after accessing Caruso’s computer files, they saw pictures of him engaging in oral sex with a girl who resembled a 7-year old girl who lived in the neighborhood.

The department has hired a replacement professor for the year. Caruso’s arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 9. He has been described as an excellent psychiatrist.

Psych Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

According to the Mississauga News (Canada), Burlington psychiatrist Dr. Allan Beitel, 57, has been charged with accessing and possessing child pornography, fraud, possession of stolen property and possession of property obtained by crime. This came about with the recovery of a stolen laptop computer that was in the possesion of the psychiatrist, and which was found to have a collection of child porn on it. There is a picture of the psychiatrist at the story link.

New story link here, at the website of Canadians Against Sexual Exploitation