(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that cardiologist Frank Pollaro, 55, of Deer Park, was sentenced to four to eight years in prison, after pleading guilty to two counts of Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child.
“This defendant’s continued possession of child pornography notwithstanding a prior federal conviction for the same, demonstrates a disturbing pattern of behavior,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Prison, not probation, is appropriate for consumers of child sexual assault materials. My office also required that he surrender his New York State medical license as a necessary step to protect the public, especially innocent children because, inconceivable, New York State allowed this defendant to continue to practice medicine despite that prior child pornography conviction.”
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 Pollaro was uploading images of child pornography to a website. On October 12, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Pollaro’s residence and recovered several electronic devices.
Police later found that Pollaro’s laptop contained thousands of images and videos depicting children, some as young as four years old, engaging in sexual acts with adults. Pollaro admitted to possessing those images and videos.
At the time of his arrest, Pollaro was already a registered level one sex offender, stemming from a 2016 conviction for possession of child pornography in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On that case, Pollaro was sentenced to probation. Despite that conviction, the New York State Health Department’s Bureau of Professional Medical Conduct allowed Pollaro to retain his medical license and continue practicing medicine in New York State.
On July 11, 2024, Pollaro pleaded guilty to two counts of Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child, Class E felonies, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis.
On September 9, 2024, Justice Wilutis sentenced Pollaro to four to eight years in prison. Prosecutors also required Pollaro to surrender his New York State medical license as a condition of his plea. He was represented by James Pascarella, Esq.
This case was 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’s Digital Forensics Unit, and Detective Janine Musmacker of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Special Victims Section/FBI Child Exploitation Task Force.
