New York Pediatrician Faces Federal Molestation Charges
CENTRAL ISLIP, NY (AP) - A New York pediatrician already charged in state court with sexually abusing young female patients is now facing federal charges.
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Rakesh Punn pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court on Long Island.
He is charged in a 36-count federal indictment with sexual exploitation of children and health care fraud.
His attorney was not immediately available to comment on the new charges.
Punn had previously been charged in Nassau County. He is being held on $10 million bond.
Punn is accused of secretly videotaping, photographing and abusing young patients while they were naked. State prosecutors say authorities found a "how-to book'' on molestation he wrote on his computer.
The federal charges include accusations he filed fraudulent insurance claims for some of the victims he allegedly molested.
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