Woodstock police are looking for a local doctor wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for child pornography charges, police say.
Woodstock police are looking for a prominent local doctor wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for child pornography charges, police say.
Dr. Robert Stern, 58, of Woodstock, is being sought by police on charges of distributing, possessing and accessing child pornography, Woodstock police said Thursday.
The charges were laid after investigators searched a home on July 7, police said. The investigation was carried out by Woodstock police’s internet child exploitation unit and criminal investigations branch.
A Canada-wide arrest warrant was granted Wednesday.
According to a biography on a website for medical education, Stern began practicing as a family physician in Woodstock in 1991, at times serving as the chair of emergency medicine and the department of family practice at Woodstock Hospital.
He was twice the chair of Ontario Medical Association’s District 2 and president of Oxford County medical society for more than 20 years, Sea Courses Inc.’s website states. After transitioning out of family practice, Stern worked part-time in a community clinic and doing hospital work, it says.
Stern has been an active member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, a self-regulatory body for medical practitioners, since June of 1990, its website shows.
Suspicious internet activity relating to child exploitation can be reported to Woodstock police or online at www.cybertip.ca. The website includes internet safety tips for parents, children and internet users.
Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to contact Woodstock police at 519-537-2323 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.