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Jury Finds Gainesville Anesthesiologist Guilty on Child Porn Charges

An investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) resulted in the conviction Thursday of Gregory C. Kapordelis, 46, of Gainesville, Georgia, on charges of production, receipt, and possession of sexually explicit images of children, after a three-week-long trial in federal court in Atlanta.

"This monster abused his power and betrayed the trust of these young victims," said Kenneth Smith, special agent in charge for ICE's Office of Investigation in Atlanta. "ICE agents will continue working diligently to catch child predators that inexcusably victimize children."

"Gregory Kapordelis, a doctor in a position of trust, sexually molested young boys, at times while they were sleeping and, on one occasion, after supplying a child with alcohol," said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher. "He memorialized that abuse when he produced child pornography overseas, in addition to his other child pornography crimes. This prosecution demonstrates the Department of Justice's ongoing commitment to protecting all children from these serious crimes."

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, "In public, Gregory Kapordelis was a respected doctor; in private, he was a monster who preyed on young boys. He befriended the boys and their parents to gain their trust, and then he betrayed that trust by molesting these boys and making child pornography by taking photographs of them. Kapordelis molested boys in the United States and abroad. In addition, he maintained a collection of thousands of graphic pictures of child pornography and hundreds of videos of boys having sex. These crimes are almost unimaginable, and we are gratified by the jury's guilty verdict. We will seek the longest possible sentence for Kapordelis to insure that he never has the chance to harm young boys again."

After only about four hours of deliberation, the federal jury found Kapordelis guilty of three counts of using a minor to produce a sexually explicit image, two counts of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.

In the middle of jury selection, Kapordelis indicated that he wished to represent himself at trial. United States District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr., permitted him to proceed pro se after insuring that his decision to waive his right to an attorney was knowing and voluntary. Judge Pannell ordered Donald F. Samuel, the defendant's attorney up to that point, to remain in the courtroom as "standby counsel." Approximately halfway through the United States' presentation of its case, Kapordelis claimed to the court that he was too exhausted to continue, and his attorney was allowed to take over as counsel for the remainder of the trial.

According to the evidence at trial: Kapordelis was arrested on April 12, 2004, at JFK Airport in New York on his way back from a trip to Russia. He was charged with the child pornography offenses after an examination of his computer revealed over 10,000 images and videos of child pornography depicting young boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Among the images found on Kapordelis' computer were photos he had taken of boys in his care. Relating to three of the counts, he was convicted of pulling down the victims' underwear while they slept and photographing them in the nude. One of the victims testified at trial and indicated he was fourteen years old at the time the images were taken. According to his testimony, on one of the occasions Kapordelis prepared alcoholic drinks that caused the youth to pass out. Until the investigation of the Kapordelis began, that victim was unaware that the illegal photos had been taken. The father of a second victim, a relative of Kapordelis, testified that his son was eleven when the images were taken. The images were taken in Greece when the victim traveled there with the Defendant and a large group of friends. Like the first victim, the second victim and his father were unaware of the illegal activity until law enforcement found the images on Kapordelis' computer.

The jury found Kapordelis not guilty on a fourth production count, relating to a 17-minute video made in Prague.

A computer forensic specialist with the High Tech Investigative Unit in the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice testified at trial that he found over 8,000 images and 300 videos of boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct on three of four computers seized from the Defendant or from his home. According to testimony presented at trial, the child pornography was downloaded over a two-year period from various newsgroup programs such as "PixNewsPro," "NewsRover," and "Outlook Express." Kapordelis admitted at trial that the images depicted real children.

Kapordelis produced and received child pornography before April 30, 2003, when Congress passed the "Protect Act" which increased the possible sentences for child pornography related crimes. Because of that, Kapordelis faces a minimum sentence of ten years up to a maximum sentence of twenty years for each of the counts of using a child to produce child pornography. Under the older version of the statute, the possible sentence for receipt of child pornography is up to fifteen years in prison. However, the jury found Kapordelis guilty of possessing child pornography on April 12, 2004, which occurred after the change to the statute. The sentence for possession of child pornography under the 2003 version of the law is up to ten years in prison for a first child exploitation offense, and at least ten and up to twenty years for a second child exploitation offense. Sentencing is scheduled for August 8, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Pannell.

Assistant United States Attorneys Aaron M. Danzig and Robert C.I. McBurney of the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Alexandra Gelber of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department's Criminal Division prosecuted this case.

Source: U.S. Department of State