Officials charged a former doctor who worked at an Ohio children’s hospital with transporting and possessing child pornography Tuesday, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
73-year-old Howard M. Saal was previously employed by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital as a geneticist and dysmorphologist, the press release indicates. A detective from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office received a cyber tip about child pornography image searches from Saal’s IP address, charging documents alleged.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) review of Saal’s devices has allegedly found over 153,000 images and 470 videos of child sexual abuse material. Multiple pieces of media included children as young as a newborn baby, according to the attorney’s office. The detective is attached to the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force.
Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey issued a statement after Saal’s arrest. “I am incredibly proud of the work of our Regional Electronics and Computer Investigations unit and their diligence in investigating this individual,” she said. “We encourage anyone who thinks they may be a victim of Dr. Saal to contact our detectives. We will continue to seek out dangerous individuals and bring justice to victims’ families.” (RELATED: Man Asks For Health Advice, Ends Up Poisoned With Rare Condition)
Saal’s medical license is still shown as active, according to the state medical board, WLWT reported. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital confirmed to the outlet that he is no longer working there. “We absolutely condemn the exploitation of children. We are cooperating fully with the authorities,” the hospital said.
Investigators said they have not found any evidence linking the alleged child pornography to patients or children associated with the hospital.
Saal said, “I hope not” when asked by investigators if he possessed any child sexual abuse material, according to court documents obtained by WLWT. Saal allegedly said sexual abuse material bothers him and that’s why he has viewed it.
Each of the charges carries up to a 20-year federal prison sentence.