MD Anderson physician pleads guilty to collecting child pornography

A pediatric oncologist with M.D. Anderson has been arrested on child porn charges, according to the FBI. Dr. Dennis Hughes was arrested at his Pearland home last Friday, June 5. He is charged with possession of child pornography. Photo of him at M.D. Anderson shot Thursday, April 17, 2014, in Houston. ( Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle ) less A pediatric oncologist with M.D. Anderson has been arrested on child porn charges, according to the FBI. Dr. Dennis Hughes was arrested at his Pearland home last Friday, June 5. He is charged with ... more Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close MD Anderson physician pleads guilty to collecting child pornography 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

GALVESTON – A former pediatric oncologist at M.D. Anderson pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to collecting thousands of images and videos of child pornography on his home and state computers.

Dennis Patrick Meehan Hughes, pleaded guilty to one count each of receipt of child pornography, access with intent to view child pornography and possession of child pornography. U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks, Jr. set sentencing for June 1.

Hughes, 49, remains free on $50,000 bond. He resigned from M.D. Anderson in the days following his June arrest. He turned over his license permanently to the Texas Medical Board in August, forgoing a lengthy review of his qualifications.

THE ARREST: M.D. Anderson pediatrics doctor charged with child porn

M.D. Anderson initiated outreach, contacting the families of approximately 300 young cancer patients, many of whom traveled long distances to be treated at Houston's world renowned center.

Hughes spent about 80 percent of his work time in a lab and 20 percent with patients, M.D. Anderson officials said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack told the judge that investigators found 329 videos and 2,693 images on his computers, including a laptop computer in his work office that is owned by the cancer center.

An FBI agent and a police detective executed a search warrant at his Pearland home June 5 based on information that he had been downloading files from a website known to distribute child pornography.

THE FALLOUT: Doctor charged in child porn case resigns from M.D. Anderson

The bulk of the images the FBI viewed were of naked prepubescent girls, some with grown men, in sexual situations.

Investigators collected eight digital cameras, a laptop, an iPad, six thumb drives, DVDs, memory cards and a hard drive all suspected to contain pornography exploiting children.

Hughes was forthright with the investigators, telling officials executing the search warrant that his pattern was to download images onto an external flash drive and then erase and clean it and start over. He admitted to police that one thumb drive contained 8,200 files, most of which appeared to be pornographic images of children.

Hughes, who was not under arrest at that point, told an FBI agent he had been looking at pornography since the late 1990s. Hughes, who is originally from New Jersey, graduated from Yale Medical School in 1996.

The guilty plea was not part of a plea bargain made with prosecutors, officials said. Hughes waived his right to trial and agreed to proceed to sentencing.

If convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison.