Psychiatrist Steven B. Friedenthal Loses Licenses in NY and FL due to Child Pornography Charges

May 28, 2025

On January 7, 2025, the New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct ordered that psychiatrist Steven Friedenthal, be precluded from practicing due to child pornography charges having been brought against him in Florida.

Friedenthal also voluntarily surrendered his license to practice in Florida on April 30, 2025.

Background:

On October 8, 2024, the State of Florida Health Department ordered an Emergency Suspension of Friedenthal’s medical license.   

This was based on the fact that the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBCSO) received three CyberTips from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children concerning a Google user who used his Google Drive account to upload several hundred files depicting the sexual abuse of children.

All three CyberTips contained the same phone number. Pursuant to a search warrant, both AT&T and Comcast certified that the subscriber for that telephone number was Friedenthal, and the telephone number on the AT&T and Comcast account matched the AT&T telephone number on the reported Google account. 

Pursuant to the search warrant, Google provided over a terabyte of data content from the reported Google account.

The PBSCO reviewed the content produced by Google and found thousands of Child Sexual Abuse Material images and video files. 

On May 29, 2024, Friedenthal was arrested in Palm Beach County for felony possession of 10 or more files of child pornography, in violation of Florida Statutes.

On June 17, 2024, Friedenthal was charged with 30 counts of possession of child pornography.

On October 29, 2024, the Florida Department of Health (petitioner) issued an Administrative Complaint against Friedenthal which stated that on April 30, 2024, Friedenthal possessed, controlled, or intentionally viewed one or more images that he knew depicted a minor engaged in sexual conduct or that had been created, altered, adapted, or modified by electronic, mechanical, or other means to portray an identifiable minor engaged in sexual conduct.

It further cited that Friedenthal committed acts that constitute violation of the Florida State Statutes relating to sexual performance by a child, by knowingly possessing, controlling, or intentionally viewing a photograph, motion picture, exhibition, show, representation, image, data, computer depiction, or other presentation which, in whole or part, he knows to include child pornography. Friedenthal subsequently surrendered his license.

Sources: "Boca Raton doctor accused of child pornography had 1 terabyte of explicit content: PBSO," CBS-12, May 31, 2024; Order of Emergency Suspension in re: Emergency Suspension of the License of Steven B. Friedenthal, M.D., Lic. no. ME56709, Case no. 2024-37312, State of Florida Dept. of Health, filed Oct. 8, 2024; Administrative Complaint, Dept. of Health, Petitioner v. Steven B. Friedenthal, M.D., Case no. 2024-37312, State of Florida Dept. of Health, filed Oct. 31, 2024; and Interim Order of Conditions Pursuant to N.Y. Public Health Law § 230, in the Matter of Steven Friedenthal, M.D., BPMC No. 24-262, New York State Dept. of Health State Board for Professional Medical Conduct, effective Jan. 7, 2025. 

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