A pediatric endocrinologist and medical director of a boarding school in Massachusetts pleaded guilty to three counts of child pornography charges on Monday.
57-year-old Richard Keller appeared in a Boston court, where he pleaded guilty to receiving and possessing child pornography.
Keller, who worked at Phillips Academy and as a doctor at Children's Hospital in Boston, also taught at Harvard Medical School. He reportedly purchased child pornography from a company based in Canada, and had some of it mailed over to the student health center, according to the Associated Press. In a written statement, Keller admitted to watching underage porn online, and "that he has previously tried to stop, but failed to do so."
The Andover resident's attorney and federal prosecutors have come up with a plea agreement that recommends a prison sentencing somewhere between five years, three months and 6 ½ years. The court is slated to announce a ruling on Feb. 27.
During the trial, Keller didn't say very much - he only spoke when asked questions by U.S. District Judge Dennis Saylor IV. While Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacy Dawson Belf delved into the charges against the 57-year-old doctor, he kept his hands neatly tucked under his chin silently.
Keller allegedly bought videos and pictures from a Toronto company 19 times during the time between 2009 and 2011, AP reported. The material the doctor purchased bore images of young boys involved in sexually explicit acts. According to Belf's testimony, the company's database fingered Keller after government postal service investigators began probing its movements last year. At least 500 printouts and between 60 to 100 child pornography DVDs were reportedly found in Keller's home.
Following Keller's arrest, the head of Phillips Academy John Palfrey sent an email to families of the school saying that the administration had decided to cancel Keller's contract of employment, based on "professional misconduct," that was not related to the case. Palfrey wrote in the letters that Keller had been caught using a computer at the school in 1999 to watch pornography. He'd also allegedly shown a questionable cartoon to his students in 2002.
