Pediatrician Sentenced For Child Pornography Charges

BOSTON – A former Boston Children’s Hospital pediatric endocrinologist was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston for purchasing child pornography.

Richard Keller, M.D., 57, of Andover, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 78 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Upon release, Keller must register as a level 3 sex offender. In November 2013, Keller pleaded guilty to two counts of receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. At the time of his arrest in 2012, Dr. Keller was a pediatric endocrinologist at Boston Children=s Hospital and a pediatrics instructor at Harvard Medical School. Before stepping down in 2011, Keller was the Medical Director at Phillips Academy for 19 years.

“Any crime that preys upon children, the most vulnerable and precious population, is reprehensible,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, “but when the predator is in a position of trust, as Mr. Keller was as a pediatrician, it is particularly disturbing. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to unveil the cloak of anonymity that these defendants seem to think the Internet provides them.”

“The demand that creates the market for child pornography can only be satisfied by sexually abusing more children,” stated Inspector in Charge Shelly Binkowski. “For this reason, the Postal Inspection Service will continue to aggressively identify, target and arrest those who dare prey on our children.”

Keller possessed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including males between the ages of approximately seven to 16 years old. In October 2012, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and foreign law enforcement began an investigation into a Toronto company that sold child pornography, specifically movies of nude young minor boys. Foreign law enforcement seized the company’s customer database, which revealed Keller as a customer. Specifically, between July 2009 and January 2011, Keller purchased and ordered videos and images from this company on 19 different occasions. These orders included over 50 separate titles totaling over $2,695 in purchases.

Federal agents obtained a search warrant for Keller’s residence and seized multiple items of computer media. In addition, more than 500 high-gloss print-outs of child pornography and approximately 60 to 100 DVDs of child pornography were seized from Keller’s bedroom, which depicted naked boys from approximately 10 to 14 years old engaged in lewd and lascivious displays of their genitalia.

In addition, Keller possessed a DVD containing child pornography, including images and videos that depicted naked boys from approximately age seven to 16 engaged in sexual activity, including oral and anal sex, as well as sadomasochistic conduct. As part of his plea agreement, Keller admitted that he has had a long-standing sexual interest in adolescents since the early 1970s. Keller further admitted to viewing child pornography on the Internet and that he had previously tried to stop, but failed to do so.

US Attorney Ortiz, Inspector Binkowski, and Andover Police Chief Patrick Keefe made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacy Dawson Belf of Ortiz=s Major Crimes Unit.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys= Offices and the Criminal Division=s CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.