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Porn doctor jailed for 33 years
Child images shared online
A Florida doctor has been jailed for 33 years and nine months over child porn offences.
Dr Richard Carino, of New Port Richey, Florida, received the harsh sentence on Monday at a sentencing hearing following his July jury conviction on six counts of distributing images of child abuse. Images were found on PCs maintained by Carino at both his practice and home during police raids in July 2005. The disgraced physician was reportedly turned in by his wife.
Carino had used file sharing network KaZaA to distribute images and video clips of abuse. Carino was also investigated for rubber-stamping drug orders made to unlicensed internet pharmacies, but not charged in connection with these alleged offences.
The harsh sentence against Carino stems from his betrayal of trust against the community he served and the violence towards children, some as young as six, depicted in the images he circulated. The six charges a jury convicted him of involve distributing images of child abuse involving prepubescent children.
The jury heard testimony from Carino's younger sister that he abused her when she was 11 and he was 16, TampaBay.com reports, an aggravating factor that may have led to the severe sentence handed down to the former doctor.
Carino has lost his licence to practice medicine, local paper the Tampa Tribune reports.
More details on the case can be found in a DoJ statement here. ®