LI Doctor And Sex Offender Sentenced For Child Porn Charges

DEER PARK, NY — A Deer Park doctor and registered sex offender was sentenced to four to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges earlier this year, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced.

Cardiologist Frank Pollaro, 55, of Deer Park, was sentenced to four to eight years in prison before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child in July, the DA said.

Prosecutors also required Pollaro to surrender his New York State medical license as a condition of his plea, the DA said.

According to the DA and Pollaro's admissions, the Suffolk County Police Department’s Digital Forensics Unit received notice that a user on Freechatnow.com was uploading images of child pornography in September 2023.

An investigation revealed that Pollaro was the person sharing the child pornography, the DA said.

On October 12, 2023, in conjunction with Task Force members from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a search warrant issued for Pollaro’s home revealed a laptop containing thousands of images and videos depicting children—including some as young as four years old—engaging in sexual acts with adults, the DA said.

Pollaro— who was already a registered level one sex offender after a 2016 conviction of one count of possession of child pornography—confessed to possessing the images and videos, the DA said.

At the time, he was sentenced to one-year probation and the New York State Department of Health Board for Professional Misconduct allowed Pollaro to keep his medical license and continue practicing in New York, the DA said.

On July 11, Pollaro pleaded guilty before Judge Wilutis to two counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child, Class E felonies, the DA said.

“This defendant’s continued possession of child pornography notwithstanding a prior federal conviction for the same, demonstrates a disturbing pattern of behavior,” said Tierney. “Prison, not probation, is appropriate for consumers of child sexual assault materials. My office also required that he surrender his New York State medical license as a necessary step to protect the public, especially innocent children because, inconceivable, New York State allowed this defendant to continue to practice medicine despite that prior child pornography conviction.”

He was represented by James Pascarella who was not immediately available for comment.