Former Children’s doctor charged with federal child pornography crimes
By Molly Schramm
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CINCINNATI (WCPO) — A former Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center doctor is facing multiple federal charges related to child pornography, said Dominick S. Gerace II, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
Howard M. Saal, a former geneticist and dysmorphologist at Cincinnati Children’s, was in federal court Tuesday for charges of transporting and possessing child porn, Gerace said.
According to court documents, a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office detective received a cyber tip regarding searches for child pornography that originated from Saal’s IP address. That cyber tip included an image of two young girls engaging in sexual conduct.
Gerace said to date, as part of their ongoing review of the 73-year-old’s electronic devices, the FBI has found more than 153,000 images and 470 videos of child sexual abuse material. He said some of the material found involves victims as young as newborns.
Through their investigation, officials have not found any evidence of child pornography involving patients or children associated with Cincinnati Children’s, Gerace said.
Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said she encourages anyone who thinks they may be a victim of Saal to contact detectives.
“We will continue to seek out dangerous individuals and bring justice to victims’ families,” she said.
Transporting child pornography is punishable by at least five years and up to 20 years in prison. Possessing child pornography carries a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
In a statement to WCPO 9, Cincinnati Children’s said, “The safety and care of children is at the core of what we do and who we are.”
“We absolutely condemn the exploitation of children,” the statement continues. “We are cooperating fully with the authorities and Howard Saal is no longer employed with Cincinnati Children’s.”
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