Bay Area Oncologist Accused Of Child Porn Possession In Federal Complaint

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A Bay Area physician has been charged with possession of child pornography, federal authorities announced Friday.

Dr. Joseph Mollick was charged in a federal complaint filed in July and unsealed on Thursday, according to a statement from Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Stephanie Hinds and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King.

Mollick is an oncologist and is listed on his LinkedIn page as a faculty member at UCSF Medical Center. He had also previously practiced at Stanford until 2013.

According to the complaint, the 58-year-old Mollick used the social media application Kik to upload an image depicting child pornography. The complaint also alleges that Mollick possessed on his Apple iCloud account at least 2,000 images and videos of child pornography.

Mollick made his initial federal court appearance Thursday morning on a single charge of child porn possession. He was released on an unsecured bond of $50,000 with special conditions imposed, the statement said.

In a statement to KPIX 5, UCSF officials said Mollick was immediately removed from clinical service after learning about the complaint and was placed on involuntary leave.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy for the crimes for which Mr. Mollick is being charged," a hospital spokesperson said. "His employment is being reviewed as part of an internal investigation already under way."

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence would also take into consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence.