Anesthesiologist associated with Broward Health arrested and charged with child pornography
FORT LAUDERDALE — A career physician associated with Broward Health was revoked of his privileges after he was arrested and charged with 11 counts of child pornography.
David Rerko, 61, was arrested Thursday morning on 10 counts of possessing child pornography and an additional count of compiling and using a computer for child pornography.
According to arrest documents, Rerko worked as an anesthesiologist with Broward Health North and is also affiliated with Broward Health Medical Center and other hospitals throughout Florida. He's reportedly been working in medicine for 21 years and has a Mississippi State Board of Medicine license. It is unknown whether he has worked at other hospitals outside of Florida.
"We were dismayed to learn that an anesthesiologist provided to our system by a third-party contractor has been arrested," Broward Health shared in a statement to CBS News Miami. "Upon learning the nature of the charges, we immediately notified his employer that the physician's privileges were revoked and that he is not permitted on any of our properties."
Broward Health also stated that it is "fully cooperating" with the Broward Sheriff's Office as the investigation continues.
The investigation
In August, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a report from Yahoo Inc. that one of their subscribers — later identified as Rerko — violated the company's terms of use by "uploading videos and images of child pornography," arrest documents stated. Yahoo provided the material to the NCMEC, which then sent a CyberTip to the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force because Rerko's IP addresses geolocated him to Pompano Beach.
According to the arrest documents, Yahoo reported that Rerko's account had uploaded 336 files — 181 of which contained child porn. Based on the information reviewed, it appeared that he had allegedly "emailed himself some of the same images multiple times" between March 2017 and August 2024 when Yahoo suspended Rerko's account.
On Sept. 4, BSO received the contents of Rerko's account, where they discovered many of the reported files included in the CyberTip. According to arrest documents, the videos and images showed young girls between 8 and 13 years old. It is unknown at this time whether the girls were former patients of Rerko or what the relationship was between him and the children.
Additionally, all the emails had his signature "David Rerko, MD" printed at the bottom and showed that they were sent from an iPhone.
After reviewing and confirming the account's ownership, BSO pulled Rerko over during a traffic stop on Thursday morning along North Federal Highway in Pompano Beach. Upon serving a search warrant, Rerko was not handcuffed but escorted to a BSO-issued vehicle to be interviewed.
During a search of his home, BSO took in numerous electronic and storage devices as evidence. Forensic examiners looked at Rerko's phone, and he reportedly refused to provide the password, as stated in the arrest documents. BSO noted that he may face additional charges pending the forensics investigation.
Rerko was taken to BSO Main Jail for booking later Thursday morning.
According to arrest documents, a records check revealed that Rerko was arrested for driving under the influence in January 1983 by Daytona Beach Police and had no other criminal history before this week's arrest. BSO also noted that he had allegedly made plans to travel to Germany for a week in late September.