Professional License and Federal Child Pornography Charges

The Career That Ends Before Trial

Here’s the paradox that nobody explains to professionals facing federal charges. You will likely lose your professional license BEFORE you lose your freedom. Licensing boards move faster than criminal courts. While your defense attorney is filing motions and negotiating with prosecutors over a timeline measured in months or years, the licensing board has already opened an investigation, sent demand letters, and potentially suspended your ability to practice. The career you spent decades building can end administratively while your criminal case is still in the discovery phase.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you real information about what happens to professional licenses when federal child pornography charges are filed – how licensing boards find out, how fast they act, and why you need license defense running in parallel with criminal defense from day one. Todd Spodek has represented professionals facing federal charges who discovered that protecting their freedom and protecting their career require two seperate legal strategies. This article explains why you’re fighting a two-front war.

Think about what this means for doctors, lawyers, nurses, accountants, teachers, therapists, and other licensed professionals. You’ve spent years in school. Passed licensing exams. Built a practice or career. Accumulated professional reputation. And within 72 hours of your arrest, every licensing board you answer to probly already knows. Automated database monitoring means they dont wait for you to tell them. They find out through systems designed to flag exactly this type of situation. The board knows before your family knows. Sometimes before your employer knows.

How Licensing Boards Find Out

Heres the system revelation that changes how you should think about notification. Most professionals beleive they have a duty to self-report arrests or convictions to there licensing board – usually within 30 days of the event. Thats true. But heres the irony: the board probably already knows before you tell them.

Arrest information enters criminal justice databases within 72 hours. Licensing boards across the country have automated monitoring systems that check these databases. When your name appears with charges matching certain criteria – and child pornography charges definately match – a flag gets generated. An investigation file opens. And the clock starts ticking on your professional future.

The self-reporting requirement creates a trap. If you report promptly, your statement becomes evidence the board uses against you. If you dont report, they already know anyway – and now you’ve added dishonesty to your problems. In the eyes of most licensing boards, dishonesty is actualy treated WORSE then many criminal offenses. The failure to self-report can trigger seperate disciplinary charges beyond whatever happens with the underlying federal case.

This timing matters enormously. The board’s investigation can proceed independantly of your criminal case. They dont need to wait for a conviction. They can act on the arrest alone. They can subpoena records, interview witnesses, and build a case against your license while your criminal defense attorney is still reviewing discovery materials.

At Spodek Law Group, we explain this parallel timeline to every professional client. Criminal defense without license defense leaves half your life unprotected. Todd Spodek coordinates with licensing defense specialists to ensure both fronts are covered from the beginning.

Emergency Suspension – License Gone in Days

Heres the uncomfortable truth that professionals need to understand immediatly. Eight states have emergency suspension powers that allow licensing boards to suspend your license upon arrest – not conviction, ARREST – without a hearing. These states include California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

Think about what that means. You havent been convicted of anything. Your presumed innocent under the Constitution. But your professional license – your ability to earn a living in the field you trained for – can be suspended within DAYS of your arrest. No hearing. No opportunity to present your side. The board determines that the charges create an immediate threat, and your license is gone.

The emergency suspension isnt the final determination. You’ll eventually get a hearing. But “eventually” can mean months. During those months, you cant practice. You cant bill clients or patients. You cant maintain professional relationships. Your career enters a holding pattern while the criminal case and the licensing case both grind forward.

Theres more. Even in states without emergency suspension powers, boards can move surprisingly fast when the charges involve children. The standard timeline – which can stretch 18-36 months from investigation to final order in normal cases – compresses dramaticaly when child exploitation is involved. What might take years for other offenses gets prioritized when the allegations involve minors.

Illinois passed a law in 2011 that removes ALL discretion from medical boards when health care workers are convicted of sex offenses. The law mandates permanent revocation without a hearing for any health care worker convicted of offenses requiring sex offender registration. No mitigating circumstances. No consideration of rehabilitation. If your convicted of an offense requiring sex offender registration, your medical license is permanently revoked – automaticaly.

The Named Cases That Define Your Future

Heres what actualy happens to licensed professionals when federal child pornography charges result in conviction. These arnt hypotheticals. These are real cases with real consequences.

Dr. Aalbers, Kansas, 2025. A pediatric neurologist – someone who treated children’s neurological conditions for a living – was convicted of 13 counts of attempted production of child pornography and 1 count of possession. He recieved 25 years in federal prison. The Kansas licensing board revoked his medical license, stating he “poses a threat to the public and does not warrant public trust.” Think about the irony. A doctor whose speciality was childrens health was possessing and attempting to produce images of child abuse. The profession itself became evidence of his unfitness.

Dr. Billy John Lockhart, California, 2019. A psychiatrist at UCSF’s Psychiatry Department uploaded and traded over 600 images of child pornography online. Sometimes he used UCSF’s Wi-Fi network to do it. The Medical Board of California revoked his license. His career treating patients mental health – many of whom were vulnerable – ended permanantly.

Dr. Neisler, Colorado, 2021. Sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for production of child pornography. What made his case particularly devastating: he secretly recorded 21 of his own patients. Nineteen were minors, aged 11 to 16. Two were adults. The medical board permanently revoked his license. He used his position as a doctor to access and exploit the very patients who trusted him.

Dr. Allen, Nevada. Pled guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners found that the offense “constitutes moral turpitude.” License revoked. Prohibited from reapplying for licensure for three years. Even after three years, any application would have to explain the conviction – making approval unlikely.

Stuart K. Lesansky, California, 1999. A Pasadena attorney was summarily disbarred after his conviction of attempted lewd act upon a 14-year-old child. The State Bar Court ordered summary disbarment. Sexual crimes involving children constitute moral turpitude per se – meaning no additional analysis required. The conviction alone triggers automatic consequences.

These cases share common elements. Professionals who had access to vulnerable populations. Extensive education and training. Careers built over decades. All of it destroyed not just by criminal conviction, but by the parallel licensing consequences that followed.

Moral Turpitude – The Legal Standard That Destroys Careers

Heres the paradox that defines license defense in child pornography cases. Different states interpret the same standard – “moral turpitude” – in radically different ways.

A Florida appellate court actually REVERSED a dental boards revocation of a dentists license for possessing child pornography. The court ruled that the conviction didnt bear a direct relationship to dental practice. The recommended order to revoke lacked “ample factual foundation.” A dentist who possessed child pornography kept his license becuase the court decided the crime wasnt directly related to putting fillings in teeth.

But in Illinois, theres no discretion at all. The 2011 law mandates permanent revocation without a hearing for any health care worker convicted of offenses requiring sex offender registration. Same profession category. Radically different outcome. The Florida dentist kept his license. An Illinois dental hygienist with identical charges would lose it automaticaly.

The “moral turpitude” standard matters becuase it determines wheather the licensing board needs to prove anything beyond the conviction itself. For crimes involving children, most jurisdictions treat sexual offenses as moral turpitude per se – meaning the conviction alone establishes unfitness. No additional evidence required. The board dosent need to prove you endangered patients or clients. The nature of the crime speaks for itself.

California Business and Professions Code Section 6101(a) states that conviction of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude “constitutes a cause for disbarment or suspension.” Washington state law goes further: when an attorney is convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude, the “record of conviction shall be conclusive evidence” for disbarment purposes. The conviction IS the evidence. Nothing more needed.

At Spodek Law Group, we help clients understand how there specific licensing board interprets moral turpitude. Some jurisdictions require a nexus between the offense and professional practice. Others treat child exploitation offenses as automaticaly disqualifying regardless of practice area. Todd Spodek works with license defense specialists who know the standards in your jurisdiction.

Criminal Defense vs License Defense – Two Different Wars

Heres the inversion that experienced attorneys understand but clients often dont. Criminal defense protects you from prison. License defense protects your ability to ever work again. Most people hire the first and completely forget about the second until its too late.

The two proceedings operate by different rules. Criminal court requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Licensing boards typically use preponderance of the evidence – meaning more likely then not. You might win in criminal court and still lose your license. The same evidence that creates reasonable doubt for a jury might still support a finding by preponderance for the licensing board.

Theres also the timing problem. Criminal defense attorneys focus on the criminal case. Thats there expertise. But while they’re filing motions and negotiating plea agreements, the licensing board investigation proceeds on its own timeline. Demand letters arrive. Response deadlines pass. Formal charges get filed. By the time the criminal case resolves – wheather by plea or trial – the licensing case may be advanced to a point where damage cant be undone.

Even if you win the criminal case – even if charges are dismissed or you’re aquitted at trial – the licensing board can still proceed. Boards arnt bound by criminal verdicts. They can make independant determinations based on there own review of evidence. An aquital dosent automaticaly restore your license. It just removes one piece of evidence from the board’s consideration.

Think about these parallel timelines. Your fighting for years of freedom in federal court. Simultaneosly, your fighting for decades of career in administrative proceedings. The federal case determines wheather you go to prison. The licensing case determines wheather you can ever practice your profession again – assuming you eventually get out of prison.

SORNA and the Notification Chain

Heres the hidden connection that ensures every licensing board in the country knows about your federal conviction. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act – SORNA – requires registered sex offenders to provide “all professional licenses” to the registering agency.

When you register as a sex offender following a child pornography conviction, you must disclose every professional license you hold. Every state. Every profession. Every certification. This information becomes part of your registration record. Government officials notify relevant agencies – including licensing boards – that a sex offender holds a license in there jurisdiction.

The consequence cascade works like this. Federal conviction leads to SORNA registration. SORNA registration requires professional license disclosure. Professional license disclosure triggers notification to every licensing board. Every licensing board opens there own investigation. If you hold licenses in multiple states – which many professionals do – you face multiple simultaneous licensing proceedings.

Theres also the employment restriction layer. SORNA registration commonly prohibits sex offenders from working near schools, daycares, group homes, public libraries, amusement parks, and recreational centers. If your profession involves any of these settings – teaching, counseling, social work, pediatric medicine – SORNA restrictions may make practice impossible regardless of wheather your license survives.

At Spodek Law Group, we explain the full consequence cascade to professional clients. The federal conviction is the beginning, not the end. SORNA registration creates a permanent notification system that follows you across state lines and across professions. Todd Spodek helps clients understand there complete exposure – not just the federal charges, but everything that flows from conviction.

The Federal Penalties AND the License Penalties

Heres the uncomfortable truth about sentencing in federal child pornography cases. The prison sentence is devastating enough. But for licensed professionals, the licensing consequences effectively end careers that might otherwise survive.

Federal child pornography distribution carries a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence. Production carries a 15-year mandatory minimum. The average sentence for production is 273 months – nearly 23 years. 99.3% of child pornography offenders recieve imprisonment. No parole in the federal system. You serve the full sentence.

Now add the licensing consequences. 25 years in federal prison – like Dr. Aalbers recieved – plus permanent license revocation means the career is over completly. Even if the prison sentence is shorter, the license revocation may prevent return to practice. Even if the license isnt permanantly revoked, the sex offender registration creates employment restrictions that make practice in most settings impossible.

The combination is crushing. You lose years to prison. You lose your license. You lose the ability to work in settings involving children. You emerge from federal prison with no career to return to, no license to practice with, and permanent restrictions on where you can work and live.

For attorneys specifically, Texas law requires disbarment when the sentence includes any period of incarceration other then probation. Any prison time equals automatic disbarment. For doctors, nurses, teachers, therapists – the “moral turpitude” finding that accompanies child exploitation convictions typically results in permanent revocation regardless of sentence length.

What To Do Right Now

If your facing federal charges related to child pornography, or if you’ve learned an investigation involves allegations that could affect your professional license, heres exactly what you should do:

Hire criminal defense AND license defense immediatly. These are seperate specialties. Your criminal defense attorney protects you from prison. Your license defense attorney protects your professional future. Both need to start working now – not after the criminal case resolves.

Do NOT respond to licensing board communications without counsel. The board’s “Request for Response” letter isnt casual. Your response becomes evidence. What you say – and dont say – affects both the licensing case and potentialy the criminal case. Let attorneys coordinate your response.

Understand the self-reporting trap. You probly have a duty to report the arrest or charges to your licensing board. But the board probly already knows. Work with counsel to craft a self-report that complies with your obligations without creating additional evidence problems.

Identify emergency suspension risks. If you practice in California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Michigan, emergency suspension is possible. Your license defense attorney needs to address this risk immediatly – potentially before formal charges are even filed.

Map your complete licensing exposure. Do you hold licenses in multiple states? Multiple professions? Certifications from professional organizations? Each represents a seperate proceeding that needs attention. The SORNA notification system will reach all of them eventually.

Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. The consultation is free and completly confidential. Todd Spodek can evaluate your situation, explain the parallel criminal and licensing timelines, and connect you with license defense specialists who understand your specific profession.

The licensing board already knows about your arrest. Within 72 hours of the event, automated systems flagged your name. An investigation file has opened. Demand letters are being prepared. The timeline that determines your professional future is already running.

Dr. Aalbers spent his career treating children’s neurological conditions. He’s now serving 25 years with a permanantly revoked license. Dr. Lockhart practiced psychiatry at one of the countrys most prestigious medical institutions. His license is gone forever. Stuart Lesansky practiced law in Pasadena. Summarily disbarred. The pattern is clear. Federal child pornography charges dont just threaten your freedom – they end careers that took decades to build.

Your defense needs to address both threats simultaneosly. Criminal counsel fighting the federal case. License counsel protecting your professional future. The two proceedings run in parallel. Evidence developed in one affects the other. Strategies need coordination. And both need to start now – becuase the licensing board isnt waiting for the criminal case to resolve.

The career you built faces existential threat. What happens in the next few weeks determines wheather you can ever practice your profession again. That determination starts with the right defense team handling both fronts of this fight.