A Babylon-based cardiologist, already a registered sex offender, was sentenced to four to eight years in prison on child pornography charges, according to a release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
Frank Pollaro, 55, of Deer Park, pleaded guilty in July 2024 to two counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child after investigators discovered thousands of illicit images and videos of minors, some as young as four years old, on his devices.
Pollaro’s crimes came to light when the Suffolk County Police Department’s Digital Forensics Unit received a tip that the doctor was uploading child pornography to a website in September 2023. On October 12, 2023, police, in conjunction with FBI agents, executed a search warrant at Pollaro’s Deer Park home and seized several electronic devices. A forensic investigation revealed the extent of Pollaro’s collection, and he admitted to possessing the materials.
This was not Pollaro’s first brush with the law. In 2016, he was convicted in federal court for possessing child pornography, receiving probation instead of jail time. Despite his conviction, the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Professional Medical Conduct allowed Pollaro to continue practicing medicine under specific conditions. These included the presence of a chaperone during patient exams and polygraph testing every six months. He was also barred from treating minors.
The latest charges, however, resulted in a harsher outcome. As part of his sentencing, Pollaro was required to surrender his medical license, marking the end of his medical career.
“This defendant’s continued possession of child pornography notwithstanding a prior federal conviction for the same, demonstrates a disturbing pattern of behavior,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney in the release.
In a Newsday article, Tierney stressed that Pollaro’s actions “betrayed the sacred trust placed in medical practitioners” and that anyone engaging in the exploitation of children, regardless of profession, will face justice.
Pollaro’s defense attorney, James Pascarella, declined to comment, according to Newsday. The former doctor, who once avoided prison, will now serve time behind bars, with a sentence of four to eight years.
