Florida Pediatrician Charged With Child Pornography Had Distasteful Images Of Daughter's Friends

A popular pediatrician in Florida has been ordered to stay away from minors after being charged with possession of child pornography.

Michael Mizrachy, 49, of Parkland was arrested Tuesday after an investigation that started in June last year. After acting on a tip-off, the investigators found him in possession of a video of an adult male sexually assaulting a child between the ages of 8 and 10.

The search warrant executed at his house in October led to further discovery of several disturbing photos of young children. The investigators found him in possession of photos of children in their bathing suits, underwear or shorts, unaware of being photographed. The photos depicted children aged between 13 and 15 years, with at least one child of age 10, according to a news release from Broward’s Sheriff’s office.

The photos were taken at Mizrachy’s home and the children in the photos were his daughter’s friends, reported news outlet NY Daily News. The investigators also found during the search that Mizrachy was communicating with a 15-year-old using the messaging app Kik and shared sexually explicit photos.

Mizrachy was charged with two counts of possession of child sexual performance and one count of child pornography possession.

After the news of the arrest of the popular pediatrician, many worried parents flooded the Sheriff’s office with calls anxious to know if their kids were also photographed.

Investigators said that at this point they have no reason to believe the doctor took pictures of kids at the doctor’s office, reported news outlet South Florida SunSentinel. The Sheriff’s office is still trying to identify the victims in the photographs.

“Obviously, this person had access to children. We were definitely on top of this case,” Andrea Tianga, an investigator in charge said. “We take this seriously,” Tianga added.

Mizrachy appeared in court Wednesday and was ordered to stay away from minors except to have supervised visits to his two children. Mizrachy’s bail is set at $30,000.

“We are shocked and deeply disturbed by these accusations,” West Broward Pediatrics said in a statement Wednesday. Mizrachy was terminated from the job at his clinic in Plantation.