CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) - A New York pediatrician is facing up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal child sexual exploitation.
Prosecutors say Rakesh Punn pleaded guilty on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Central Islip.
Punn had been charged initially with abusing three children under the guise that he was giving them medical treatment. In Thursday’s plea, he admitted sexually abusing one 11-year-old girl who was a patient in his Bethpage, Long Island office.
The 56-year-old Punn also has state charges pending in Nassau County for recording sexually explicit activity involving other underage patients during their visits to his office.
Defense attorney Steve Zissou told Newsday (https://nwsdy.li/1nKaVZn ) after Thursday’s guilty plea that his client accepts responsibility and plans to move on with his life.
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Information from: Newsday, https://www.newsday.com
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