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Physician accused of dealing in child porn

The FBI says the Port Richey doctor received and sent pornographic files over the Internet.

By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published May 23, 2006

The FBI arrested a Port Richey physician Monday on charges that he obtained and distributed child pornography over the Internet.

Dr. Richard Carino, 46, came to the feds' attention last year as "the subject of a (Drug Enforcement Administration) investigation for illegally dispensing prescription drugs online," according to an affidavit filed Friday by FBI Special Agent Susan B. Bucenell.

When DEA agents went to search Carino's office computer in July, his wife, Autumn, told them Carino had been downloading child pornography at home, the affidavit said.

Investigators found three video files on Carino's home computer with graphic depictions of sex acts with children, "one of which appeared to be as young as 6 years old," the affidavit said. They also found 14 pictures of child pornography on the computer, the affidavit said.

A more detailed search revealed 40 deleted files that had file names consistent with child pornography, the affidavit said.

The content of the files had been wiped out by a program called the Incinerator, which claims to destroy files "so you can be sure that what you remove is safe from anyone's prying eyes," according to the program's promotional materials.

A similar search of Carino's office computer at 6233 Ridge Road revealed 446 deleted files that had file names consistent with child pornography, the affidavit said. Those files also had been wiped out by the Incinerator, the affidavit said.

An analysis of Carino's Internet use, through his eight America Online user names and a Juno account, found more than 1,000 hits using child pornography key words, the affidavit said.

"A review of the data on these hits revealed hundreds of sites for child pornography and over 100 photographs of child pornography, several child pornography stories, and evidence Carino was sending and receiving child pornography images using his AOL and Juno e-mail accounts," the affidavit said.

Carino was charged Monday with knowingly receiving materials relating to sexual exploitation of minors via interstate commerce, a federal offense.

There are no charges from the DEA at this time.

Pasco County sheriff's deputies arrested Carino in August on charges of domestic battery, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, but the courts later withheld any finding of guilt.

That incident started when Mrs. Carino confronted her husband about the child pornography. According to sheriff's reports, the doctor grabbed his wife by the shoulders and pushed her hard across the room.

Court records show Mrs. Carino has since filed for divorce and obtained a domestic violence injunction preventing her husband from contacting her.

The Florida Board of Medicine's records show Carino earned his medical degree in 1995 from the University of Texas at San Antonio and is licensed in Arizona, Arkansas and Florida.

The records show him as having staff privileges at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point.

He is certified in family practice by the American Academy of Pain Medicine and the American Board of Family Practice.

As far as the Florida Board of Medicine is concerned, Carino has no complaints and a "clear/active" status.

[Last modified May 23, 2006, 01:29:11]