Former Beverly Hills therapist indicted on one count of distributing child sex material Thursday
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A former Beverly Hills-based marriage and family therapist has been indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of distributing child sex abuse materials announced the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California on Friday.
The 49-year-old resident of the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles is currently free on a $250,000 bond and is expected to be arraigned on May 3 in United States District Court in Los Angeles detail the U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to the indictment, on Dec. 2, 2021, the 49-year-old knowingly distributed child sexual abuse material involving a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl over the internet which had been shipped via interstate commerce.
Court documents reveal that in the fall of 2022, law enforcement became aware that the then-licensed therapist had engaged in sexually explicit online chats with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old child but was in fact an undercover law enforcement officer.
The man's marriage and family therapist license expired in November of 2023 state the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In October of 2022, the 49-year-old drove 180 miles from Beverly Hills to a public park in San Luis Obispo for an arranged meeting with the person he believed to be the 13-year-old girl state the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop and arrested the man as well as seized several digital devices detail and affidavit filed alongside the criminal complaint.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, a search of those seized digital devices led to evidence of the man's distribution of child sexual abuse material as well as communications with suspected minors and internet searches related to sex with minors.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office previously charged the man in state court, but that complaint was dismissed so the man could be charged in federal court explain the U.S. Attorney's Office.
If convicted, the 49-year-old would face a minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The U.S. Attorney's Office detail that the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the matter.
Anyone with more information about this case is asked to contact Homeland Security Investigations tipline at 866-347-2423.
