Cardiologist from Deer Park pleads guilty to child porn charges

A Babylon-based cardiologist and registered sex offender pleaded guilty Thursday to child pornography charges, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Frank Pollaro, 55, of Deer Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis in Riverhead, Tierney said in a department news release. Pollaro, who pleaded guilty in 2011 to federal child pornography charges, faces a prison sentence of between four to eight years on the latest counts and must surrender his medical license when he is sentenced, the release said. He is due back in court Aug. 14.

At his federal sentencing in 2016, Pollaro was sentenced "to serve probation but the New York State Department of Health, Board for Professional Misconduct, afforded Pollaro the ability to retain his medical license and continue practicing medicine in New York State," said the release.

In the most recent case, Suffolk police officers in conjunction with FBI agents executed a search warrant of Pollaro’s residence on Oct. 12, where they discovered a laptop containing thousands of images and videos depicting children — some as young as four years old — engaging in sexual acts with adults, according to the district attorney's office.

“This defendant’s actions not only violated the law but also betrayed the sacred trust placed in medical practitioners,” Tierney said in the release. “By possessing materials that exploit and harm children, he demonstrated a profound failure of ethics and human decency. No matter one’s profession or standing in society, those who engage in the exploitation of children will face the full force of the law.”

Pollaro's Mineola-based defense attorney, James Pascarella, declined to comment Thursday. Pollaro was not immediately available for comment.

According to the district attorney’s office, police discovered that Pollaro uploaded images of child pornography to a website, Freechatnow.com, in September before the executed the search warrant in October. Pollaro admitted to possessing the thousands of sexually explicit images and videos depicting children that search uncovered, the release said.

In 2013, Pollaro's sentencing on the federal charges was delayed three years as he performed community service.

At the time, U.S. District Judge Leonard Wexler in federal court in Central Islip said he had "hope" that Pollaro would be capable of rehabilitation without being imprisoned. The judge added that Pollaro's volunteer services would benefit the community and taxpayers would not have to fund his prison time.

The case was then adjourned until 2016 when a judge sentenced Pollaro to three years probation. He was also required to register as a level one sex offender, the release said.

The New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct placed Pollaro on a 60-month probation effective May 20, 2014, according to the New York State Department of Health Office of Professional Medical Conduct, which provides a listing of medical professionals disciplined since 1990. During that period, he was required to have a chaperone present while examining and treating patients in their homes. He was also subjected to polygraph tests every six months.

Since 2014, Pollaro has not been allowed to treat patients 18 years of age or younger, according to state health department's online database.