Beverly Hills therapist charged for distributing child pornography
A federal grand jury indicted a Beverly Hills therapist on Thursday for allegedly distributing child pornography.
The US Department of Justice claims 49-year-old Ron Gad shared child sexual abuse material involving a pre-teen on the internet and shipped the material "in interstate commerce" in 2021. He has been charged with a single count of distribution of child pornography.
Law enforcement first learned about Gad during an undercover operation where law enforcement posed as a 13-year-old girl. Investigators claimed he had sexually explicit online chats with the officer before driving 180 miles to San Luis Obispo. Prosecutors claimed he had arranged a meeting with the "girl" he was chatting with.
Officers pulled over Gad as he drove to the public park where he scheduled the meet. While searching his vehicle, police found several digital devices that proved he was distributing child pornography, along with communications with suspected minors and internet searches related to sex with minors, according to the DOJ.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office initially charged Gad in state court; however, the case was dismissed so he could be charged in federal court.
If convicted, Gad faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors asked anyone with information on he case to contact Homeland Security at (866) 347-2423.