Sentencing Delayed for Doctor Convicted on Child Porn Charge

The date for Carl Koplin's sentencing on a child pornography conviction, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been delayed, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The new sentencing date has not yet been announced.

Koplin, a former family practitioner in Vernon and a Boy Scout leader, plead guilty to one charge of receipt of child pornography in August of 2012, according to the defendant's sentencing memo. 

In the defendant's memo, Koplin's attorney Alan Sobol suggests reducing the recommended jail sentence of 108 to 135 months, citing that there are no allegations that his client ever produced child pornography nor improperly touched a child.

Koplin used a file sharing system to view pornography, according to the defense.

FBI agents found 800 gigabytes of child pornography of boys on Koplin's home computer in July 2010, according to the prosecution's sentencing memo. The collection is equal to the size of 170 DVDs. The prosecution cites the child pornography collection as one of the largest ever investigated in the district.

Federal agents also learned that Koplin agreed to perform physical exams on students trying out for school sports, according to the memo.

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The defense argued that Koplin became addicted to child pornography in 2009 as a way to escape his "depression" and a "sexual identity crisis." He started counseling in July 2010 with psychologist Dr. George Geysen, who specializes in treating sexual disorders, according to the defense memo.

Sabo said that Koplin poses an"extremely low risk of recidivism" for his crime.

Both memos also stated that Koplin came across a picture of one of his former patients while sharing files, which he deleted. However, he did not report the photo as a case of potential child abuse, as mandated for a physician under state law.

The maximum sentence Koplin could face is 20 years in jail, supervised release for 5 years to life and a maximum fine of $250,000.