Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that cardiologist Frank Pollaro, 55, of Deer Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child.
“This defendant’s actions not only violated the law but also betrayed the sacred trust placed in medical practitioners. By possessing materials that exploit and harm children, he demonstrated a profound failure of ethics and human decency,” said District Attorney Tierney. “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.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, in September 2023, the Suffolk County Police Department’s Digital Forensics Unit received notice that a user on Freechatnow.com was uploading images of child pornography. During their investigation they discovered that the user was Pollaro. On October 12, 2023, in conjunction with Task Force members from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a search warrant was executed on Pollaro’s residence where they found several electronic devices. In his laptop, they found thousands of images and videos depicting children, some as young as four years old, engaging in sexual acts with adults.
Pollaro confessed to detectives and admitted to possessing those images and videos. Pollaro is already a registered level one sex offender, having been convicted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in 2016 of one count of possession of child pornography. He was sentenced at that time 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.
On July 11, 2024, Pollaro pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis, to two counts of Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child, Class E felonies. He faces an indeterminate sentence in prison of four to eight years. Pollaro will also surrender his licensing at the time of sentencing.
Pollaro is due back in court on August 14, 2024, and he is being represented by James Pascarella, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kirsten Reilly of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Barr and Detective Steven D’Agostino of the Suffolk County Police Department Digital Forensics Unit, as well as Detective Janine Musmacker of the Suffolk County Police Department Special Victims Section/FBI Child Exploitation Task Force.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.