Bay Area doctor gets two years in prison for possessing child pornography

MENLO PARK – A Bay Area physician was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison for possessing child pornography, federal prosecutors said.

In November 2021, a grand jury indicted Joseph Andrew Mollick, 60, of Menlo Park, on one count of possession of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the charge on Jan. 9.

According to his plea agreement, Mollick admitted that he used the social media application Kik in August 2019 to upload an image of a man and a prepubescent girl having sexual relations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Mollick’s personal laptop computer also contained at least 2,000 images and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

In a court filing, Mollick identified himself as a medical doctor who has worked at Bay Area hospitals, prosecutors said.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria ordered Mollick to pay a $25,000 fine and serve five years of supervised release, which will begin after his prison term.

A hearing to decide issues regarding restitution is scheduled to take place on July 26.