Doctor previously practiced at Tlllsonburg hospital
A police search of the home of a Woodstock doctor facing child pornography charges turned up dozens of electronic devices, but no images of patients have been found on them so far, police say.
Robert Stern, 58, a longtime physician in the Southwestern Ontario city, but no longer practicing, remained wanted on a nationwide arrest warrant Tuesday, five days after Woodstock police went public about the warrant.
“After the charges, he hasn’t made himself available,” Det. const. Mike Haegens said Tuesday. “He doesn’t want to turn himself in at this point.”
Police have no reason to believe Stern has left Canada, Haegens said, but he acknowledged police know he had a residence in Florida and that police there are aware of the charges against him.
Police obtained roughly 50 devices during a July 7 search of Stern’s home, Haegens said.
No images of patients have surfaced so far.
“There are none that we are aware of,” Haegens said. “We’re still going through them. There are a number of devices to go through. We have no reason to believe they are patients of his.”
Authorities released the information about the arrest warrant to alert the public about the investigation that began in January, he said.
Stern is wanted on charges of distributing, possessing and accessing child pornography. No details have been released about any complainants.
“If anyone has information or concerns that they were sexually assaulted, or photographs taken or any concerns related to those charges, then we want to speak to them and investigate those allegations,” Haegens said.
“If there are any victims, they should come to us. No one has come to us (so far).”
A trained child exploitation detective and digital forensic examiner are investigating but haven’t been through all of the devices seized at the doctor’s home because there are so many of them, Haegens said.
“We don’t have a full account of how many images or video there will be in total,” he said.
A spokesperson for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the self-regulatory body for doctors in Ontario, said Stern is no longer practicing medicine.
“Since being made aware of the allegations against Dr. Stern by police, the College immediately began working to obtain the information we need to be able to take whatever steps may be necessary to ensure that the public is protected,” Shae Greenfield wrote in an email, adding “we will continue to offer any support we can to law enforcement.”
No special restrictions showed Tuesday on Stern’s registration with the college on its website, only a requirement that he practice only in the areas of medicine in which he’s educated and experienced.
Stern began practicing as a family doctor in Woodstock in 1991, and at times chaired emergency medicine and family practice at the Woodstock Hospital.
Some tips have come in from the public, Haegens said, but police have yet to locate Stern.
“We will continue trying to locate him,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of Crime Stoppers tips come in, but I don’t know how fruitful they will be,” he said, adding: “We do have some things to follow through on to see if he turns up.”
Hospital officials say Stern hasn’t had medical privileges there since 2014.
His primary practice location has been listed as the Tillsonburg Memorial Hospital, but he no longer practices there, The Free Press was told.
Stern had chaired the regional wing of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), a bargaining and advocacy group for doctors, and was president of the Oxford County Medical Society for more than 20 years, according to a medical education website called Sea Courses.
After transitioning out of family practice, Stern worked part-time in a community clinic and doing hospital work, it says.
The OMA has declined to comment.
Charges like those for whom Stern is being sought by police can “shatter parents’ trust” in the medical system, said the head of two domestic abuse agencies in Woodstock.
“We all take our children to the doctor for their expert opinion on their health – you automatically trust those who are in that profession,” said Diane Harris, executive director of Domestic Abuse Services Oxford and Ingamo Homes, a transitional housing agency for women and children fleeing domestic abuse.
“I don’t want parents to start to question their thoughts or processes they are not in the wrong – this is someone who may have abused his own power,” she said.
-With file by Calvi Leon, Free Press reporter
Twitter.com/HeatheratLFP