HOUSTON - A prominent University of Texas children's cancer doctor has been charged with receipt and possession of thousands of images of child pornography, according to a federal criminal complaint. Dennis Hughes , a pediatric oncologist and a University of Texas MD Anderson associate tenured professor of pediatrics, has been placed on administrative leave, the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said in a statement on Tuesday.
FBI and local police executed a federal search warrant at Hughes' suburban Houston residence on Friday, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas .
Hughes allegedly told investigators that they would find 10 gigabytes of child pornography on a single flash drive that he had downloaded since April 2015. Authorities found 8,200 files, the majority of which were child pornography, according to court documents.
Neal Davis , Hughes' attorney, said his client plans to plead not guilty and noted that Hughes was not accused of improper contact with his patients or any other minors. Hughes is married with three children, according to local media reports.
"He is a loving husband, wonderful father, and outstanding physician-scientist," said Davis in an email. "We look forward to his day in court."
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MD Anderson representatives told reporters that they are in the process of alerting current and former patients with the news.
"It's devastating. When we heard this news, of course our first thoughts were to the patients and their families," said Thomas Buchholz , the cancer center's executive vice president and physician in chief.
Hughes has been with MD Anderson for 11 years. The center is located in the Texas Medical Center and is one of the world's largest centers devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education and prevention.
Hughes will appear in court for a preliminary examination and detention hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
