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OC Podiatrist To Be Arraigned On Child Porn Charges

SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — An Orange County podiatrist is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning on felony child pornography charges after more than 1,100 images of young girls were discovered on his computer.

Dr. Pete Thomas, 58, is facing one felony count of possession and control of child pornography, the Orange County District Attorney's office said.

Thomas, of Coastline Podiatry in Santa Ana, was arrested last year after a computer technician who was installing software found the images on his office computer.

"The representative noticed thumbnail images of young girls who were nude and in sexual positions," Farrah Emami of the OC District Attorney's Office said. "The representative completed the installation, told his supervisor about the images, and reported it to the Santa Ana Police Department."

Approximately 100 photos were also found of young girls involved in sex acts with grown men.

Forensics investigators later determined that the girls ranged in age from 7 to 12 years old.

If convicted, the Long Beach resident faces a maximum sentence of three years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration.

Thomas is currently free on $50,000 bail.

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