CNHI News Service
ANDOVER, Mass. — A doctor at Boston's renowned Children's Hospital has been charged with possessing more than 500 child pornography photos and 100 DVD videos, discovered during a search of his home in this upscale suburb.
The complaint against Dr. Richard Keller, 56, was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court. He pleaded not guilty during his brief arraignment.
Federal prosecutors said they found Keller's name, e-mail, and billing address in the customer database of an overseas company that produces sexually explicit movies involving underage boys.
Keller has worked as a pediatric endocrinologist at Boston Children’s Hospital for several years. He is also a pediatrics instructor at the Harvard Medical School, and was the medical director at the private Phillips Academy boarding school for 19 years before resigning in 2011.
Investigators, armed with a search warrant, spent nearly two hours at the doctor's home in Andover Thursday morning.
“Multiple items of computer media were seized,” an affidavit by U.S. Postal Inspector Scott Kelley read. “Also seized from a bedroom were approximately 500 high-gloss print-outs of child pornography and approximately 60 to 100 DVDs of child pornography.”
Children's Hospital, a world famous institution for tthe treatment of children, said it had placed Keller on administrative leave.
“We will cooperate fully with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and all other involved regulatory and legal authorities,” the hospital said in a statement. “No complaints or concerns have been expressed by any patients or family members about the care Dr. Keller provided while he was at Children’s.”
“It is a neighborhood, the neighbors come and go. So it was a little shocking,” Carbone said.
Prosecutors said Keller ordered child pornography online between 2009 and 2011 and had it sent to his home, a post office box in town and to the Isham Student Health Center at Phillips Academy, the prestigious boarding school once attended by both President Bushes.
A group of Phillips Academy students, associated with the school's student newspaper, stood outside Keller's home after he was arrested there.
The students' said an email was sent to the entire student body about the arrest. Keller, as the head physician at Phillips until a year ago, was well-known on campus, they said.
“I thought he was pretty intelligent, respectable and I'd say trustworthy,” said a senior at the school who wished to remain anonymous. “He was always funny and kind.”
Prosecutors said the investigation into Keller began in October 2010, when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and foreign law enforcement began an investigation into a foreign movie production company that operated a website offering sexually explicit DVDs and streaming videos featuring young boys.
They said Keller had placed online orders with the company 19 different times, and that some of the videos he received featured nude minor boys undressing, wrestling, showering and playing Twister.
If convicted, Keller faces up to 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
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Details for this story were provided by The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
