January 28, 2011
Office of The Attorney General
– Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
– Stephen J. Taylor, Director
Media Inquiries-
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
Citizen Inquiries-
609-292-4925
Doctor Sentenced for Possessing Child Pornography
Pediatric neurologist is permanently barred from practicing medicine
TRENTON B Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that a Somerset County doctor was sentenced today for possessing child pornography.
According to Director Taylor, Ross B. Finesmith, 49, of the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, a pediatric neurologist, was sentenced to three years of probation by Superior Court Judge Stephen B. Rubin in Hunterdon County. As a condition of probation, Finesmith must undergo a psychological evaluation and complete any recommended course of treatment at his own expense. He must have no unsupervised contact with children under 18 and will be prohibited from visiting social networking sites or using peer-to-peer file sharing software.
Finesmith pleaded guilty on Sept. 30, 2010 to one count of fourth-degree possession of child pornography. As a requirement of his plea agreement, Finesmith is permanently barred from practicing medicine in any state.
Deputy Attorney General Kenneth R. Sharpe of the Division of Criminal Justice Computer Analysis and Technology Unit represented the state at the sentencing. He handled the case with Deputy Attorney General Lee Schaer and Sergeant John Gorman of the State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit.
Finesmith was indicted by a state grand jury on July 14, 2005, as a result of Operation Guardian, an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Child Protection and Cyber-Crime Bureau, the Division of Criminal Justice, and the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
Operation Guardian led to the arrest of 39 people in New Jersey on child pornography charges in January 2005. A member of the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force developed a file sifting technique that was used to detect and trace known videos of child pornography, specifically infamous “Baby J” videos of a Georgia man raping a 4-year-old girl. Those arrested in New Jersey were charged with downloading the videos and, in some cases, sharing them online.
The State Police arrested Finesmith on Jan. 27, 2005 and seized computers from his home and car. In pleading guilty, Finesmith admitted that he possessed child pornography on a laptop computer seized from his car. The Attorney General’s Office filed a consent order on March 27, 2006, by which Finesmith voluntarily surrendered his license to practice medicine in New Jersey.
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