Utah psychiatrist David F. Wilson charged with viewing child porn; license suspended

September 9, 2013

A doctor who had been employed as a child psychiatrist has been charged with viewing child pornography at work.

“David Wilson was treating vulnerable children all while viewing child pornography on his work computer. The Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing felt his actions posed an immediate threat to public safety so swift action was necessary.”

Utah Department of Commerce Director Francine A. Giani

OGDEN — A doctor at McKay-Dee Hospital Center who worked with vulnerable children, and also went into their homes, has been arrested and charged with viewing child pornography at work.

David Ford Wilson, 41, of Morgan, was charged Monday with 15 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, all second-degree felonies, in 2nd District Court.

Wilson was an osteopathic physician and surgeon and was previously employed by Intermountain Healthcare as a child psychiatrist in Weber County until April 30.

"David Wilson was treating vulnerable children all while viewing child pornography on his work computer. The Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing felt his actions posed an immediate threat to public safety so swift action was necessary,” Utah Department of Commerce Director Francine A. Giani said in a prepared statement.

Wilson, who was licensed to practice since 2011, had his license to practice as an osteopathic physician and administer controlled substances suspended on Aug. 27.

Investigators were first alerted to the situation by Intermountain Healthcare's IT staff members, who detected one of their computers was accessing a website that contained suspected child pornography, Weber County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Lowther said. That computer was traced back to Wilson's office.

Sheriff's investigators executed a search warrant on Wilson's work computer and hard drive.

The doctor was accessing child porn between January and April of 2013, the charging documents state. Wilson was arrested Friday and booked into the Weber County Jail.

According to documents from the emergency hearing held by the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing in August, hospital security found that Wilson was searching for terms such as, "preteen models," "young Russian girls," "shameless preteens" and others.

Wilson admitted to the group he "has had a problem with (child porn) for years," according to the DOPL report.

Even after he was fired from McKay-Dee Hospital Center, he continued working in patients' homes, "which may have young children," the report states.

The report concluded that Wilson "poses an immediate and significant danger to the public health, safety and welfare; and requires immediate action," and DOPL suspended his license.

"McKay-Dee Hospital’s Information Technology security team monitors computer systems to ensure access to the Internet remains consistent with business policies and local and federal laws," the hospital said in a statement released Monday. "We have no evidence that indicates any risk to Dr. Wilson‘s patients. The information and evidence were reported to the proper authorities.”

Source: Pat Reavy, "Doctor/child psychologist charged with viewing child porn at work," Deseret News, September 9, 2013.