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VA DOCTOR GETS PRISON SENTENCE FOR
KIDDY PORN -- Was chief of the imaging services
unit at the Salt Lake City VA hospital.
Story here...
http://deseretnews.
com/article/1,5143,695210978,00.html
Story below:
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U. doctor gets prison term for having child
porn
By Geoffrey Fattah
Deseret Morning News
Saying society was losing a "good husband, good father and a gifted
doctor and teacher," a federal judge on Monday sentenced a former
University of Utah radiology professor to just over five years in
federal prison for downloading hundreds of images of child pornography
onto his work computer.
As friends, family and medical colleagues looked on, William Zwiebel,
63, said he has come to realize that what he did was not a victimless
crime. "I am shamed to think that I have been a perpetrator in a
business that may have done serious harm to children," Zwiebel said in
court.
His attorney, Mary Corporon, pointed out that her client has already
taken steps to learn from his mistake, having already attended therapy
for about a year now. Corporon said her client had already been
"severely punished" by separation from his wife and children, plus the
loss of a prestigious career.
Several of Zwiebel's medical colleagues said his prison sentence would
be a great loss to the Utah medical community.
Zwiebel's wife said she was horrified by her husband's offense but added
she has seen his "return to moral life." The doctor's two teenage sons
said he was a "wonderful father."
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball called it an "unfortunate case" but
added that Zwiebel's sentence could have been much worse had the doctor
attempted to "reach out" and find sexual contact with a minor over the
Internet.
Zwiebel was charged in August 2006 after employees with the U.'s
information technology department discovered what they believed to be
child pornography on Zwiebel's computer. At the time, Zwiebel was a
radiology professor at the U. School of Medicine and chief of the
imaging services unit at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical
Center.
Zwiebel was placed on administrative leave and later resigned in
September of last year.
Federal prosecutors sought a sentencing enhancement after they found
some of the images of child pornography contained "sadistic and
masochistic" behavior toward children.
Attorneys in the case indicated they had reached an agreement in which
prosecutors would agree to a low end of the federal sentencing
guidelines but keep the enhancement, resulting in a sentence of 63
months.
Kimball sentenced Zwiebel to 63 months, plus 10 years supervised release
afterward. Kimball recommended that Zwiebel be placed in a low-security
federal facility close to Utah. Under federal law, Zwiebel must register
as a sex offender.
E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com
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Larry Scott --
