A pediatrician located in Washington, D.C. who practiced for years in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods was arrested Wednesday, when FBI agents stormed his home office and found folders full of child pornography images on his desktop computer.
73-year-old Robert P. Dickey was on his computer in his office, located in a $450,000 building near Fort Dupont Park in Southeast Washington when police officers found him surfing porn sites that depicted children performing sexual acts, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Authorities say that none of Dickey's patients were featured in the pornography, after searching through his entire office and two exam rooms.
Neighbors, parents and friends were shocked to find out that Dickey had been participating in such lewd behavior.
D.C. Council member Yvette M. Alexander, who lives near the pediatrician and has many mutual friends with him, said she was "sickened" by the allegations.
"He practiced in the neighborhood," she said. "He's been there for years. He's had generations of children. He was very quiet, very professional, it seemed...Just to think that someone you entrust your children to might have that mindset. No one in their right mind would entrust their child to a child pornographer."
Dickey became a person of interest in a child pornography investigation in April when his desktop's IP address popped up on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's radar.
They tracked his e-mail address and discovered that he had downloaded 14 images of young boys and girls.
Dickey is being indicted for possession of child pornography. He is currently in police custody until his first court appearance at the U.S. District Court, scheduled for Thursday.
According to a Washington Post profile of Dickey written in 1978, the pediatrician was one of only a handful of doctors who practiced medicine in the impoverished neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River at the time.
He was described as an old-fashioned doctor-a throwback who was committed to his career, saw up to 230 patients weekly and charged people based on their income.
He got his master's degree from MIT, worked as an engineer for the CIA, and graduated from the University of Minnesota's medical school in 1970.
He has no prior criminal record. Authorities are currently sifting through evidence they gathered, including his computer, hard drive, and other office equipment.
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