On Thursday (1/18) morning, armed with search warrants, State Police, along with agents of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, conducted searches of Doctor David Blaszacks home on 113 Jason Drive in the Village of Newark.
Officers seized several digital devices including a laptop, a digital camera, multiple SD cards, multiple thumb drives, and two memory sticks. Officers estimate that they have already discovered in excess of 1,000 images and multiple videos of child pornography on the thumb drive.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who is handling the case, stated that Blaszak is a physician at the Clyde Family Health Center in Clyde, NY. According to the complaint, in 2012, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations in Phoenix, Arizona began an investigation into a fee based child pornography website.
Blaszak made an initial appearance Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman and was detained. At his preliminary hearing on Friday, Blaszak spoke to the judge, and the judge agreed to give him time to find an attorney to represent him.
According to News partner 13WHAM reporters “Besides reporters and court staff-only, one other woman showed up to court and said the doctor asked to take pictures of her child years ago, but she refused. Said she reported him, but nothing…when asked why she came today, she said she “just wanted to look him in the eye.
He will appear in court again next week.
In September of 2017, investigators determined that Blasczak made 10 purchases from this website. Each file purchased by Blasczak contained thousands of images of child pornography.
Blasczak, M.D., had offices at the Family Medicine Physician at the Clyde Family Health Center, 4 West Genesee Street in the Village of Clyde.
Blasczak now practiced as a geriatrics doctor in Clyde, and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Newark-Wayne Community Hospital and Rochester General Hospital. He received his medical degree from Creighton University School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years. He is one of 2 doctors at Newark-Wayne Community Hospital and one of 30 at Rochester General Hospital who specialize in Geriatrics.
Blasczak also worked as a clinical preceptor in the Physician Assistant (PA) Program providing education and training in Family Medicine for nearly 45 different RIT PA students for nearly twenty years. He recently received the Outstanding Clinical Preceptor of the Year award at RIT as part of the Annual PA Program Awards and White Coat Ceremony.
Well known in the Clyde area for many years, he also reportedly served for years as the Clyde Savannah school physician and the Galen Health Officer in 2017. He also served as Wayne County Assistant Coroner/Physician for several years, from August of 1992 to September of 2016.
Finger Lakes Health released a statement Friday, stating that Dr. Blasczak’s employment was terminated and his medical staff privileges were removed. His contract with Finger Lakes Health began in January 2016. “We a re cooperating fully with the Department of Homeland security on their investigation.”
Wayne County law enforcement sources, along with State Police, stated that Dr. Blaszack had been on their “radar” for over a decade. One source told the Times that a mother had come to police with a complaint that Dr. Laszack asked to take pictures of her daughter’s genitals “for research”. The case was investigated, but led to no charges being placed.
According to officials, Blaszack tapped into a website only identified as “Website M”. Results from the preliminary investigation indicated that Website M was being hosted on a server physically located in India, and the website claimed to offer 600,000 images and 400 hours of video, all of which could be downloaded for a fee as compressed, encrypted files. Website M typically charged $89.99 for each file. It appeared to Phoenix Homeland Secuirty Investigators that most of the files contained between 500 and 2,000 image and/or ideo files. Law enforcement agents who visited Website M estimated that many of the images and videos advertised on the website depict pre-pubescent male and female minors engaged in sexual activity with adults and, or posed in a sexually explicit manner.
In September 2017, investigators analyzed the payment process records and identified individuals who made multiple purchases from Website M. This led back to Blaszack when records, sent the auto-generated receipts and passwords for purchases made by the doctor.
Record searches showed Blaszack made ten purchases from the website, beginning in 2015, right up to April of 2017.
Blasczak was present during the execution of the search warrant and was interviewed by investigators. The interview took place in a vehicle outside of the residence. During that interview, Blasczak initially denied having any images or videos of child pornography. He then admitted the being the sole owner and user of the email account and credit card associated with receipt of child pornography through Website M.
As the conversation progressed, Blasczak acknowledged that he owned a thumb drive that contained images and videos of child pornography. He then directed Agents to the brief case and thumb. Blasczak admitted that he would pay approximately $100 per file that he purchased.
Blasczak estimated that the children depicted in the child pornography that he purchased were between 5 and 10 years of age. When asked what his favorite type of child pornography was, Blasczak stated “oral”. He also admitted during the interview that he works as a physician and treats children at his office in Clyde, but denied ever abusing any of his child patients, but admitted to Agents that he previously photographed the genitals of children at his office.
When asked, Blasczak claimed that he was conducting his own independent research about child sex abuse and paid the parents of approximately 8 children to photograph the children’s genitals. Blasczak told Agents that he told the parents that he was conducting medical research. He further admitted that he was not sanctioned by a hospital, university, medical organization or any other professional medical board to photograph children’s genitals. He claimed that he took the images for “teaching purposes” but admitted that he kept the photographs for himself for his “own gratification.” Blaszack said that the photographs were taken years ago, but that he maintained some photographs of children’s genitals in a ‘teaching” file in his office in Clyde.
Blaszack also admitted having sexual behavior with his (now deceased) daughter’s friends during sleep overs.
Newark Village police Chief, Dave Christler said his agency received a complainy in 2015 from one of the schools concerning Blaszak. During a kindergarten class with grandparents, a mother spotted the doctor appearing to take a photograph of a young girl, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. The mother reported the incident to a teacher, who then called police.
At the time police questioned Blaszak but could not find any evidence of the incident. Chief Christler has contacted the Home Security Department to notify them of the Newark investigation to see if any photos surface from that incident.
**********
CLARIFICATION: It has since been learned that Dr. Blaszak did not have an affiliation with Newark Wayne Hospital or Rochester Regional Health. A hospital spokesperson reported that “He was never employed and had “refer and follow”’privileges only – those ended April 1, 2016. “. Information on his apparent affiliation was sourced from the Web.md website, which we were told is incorrect.
The post Wayne County Doctor arrested on Child Pornography charges appeared first on Times of Wayne County.
