Bay Area child psychologist charged with possession of child pornography
SAN FRANCISCO – A Bay Area child psychologist made his initial appearance in federal court Monday on a child pornography charge, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Kenneth Breslin, 68, of Lafayette, is charged in an indictment with knowingly possessing one or more images of prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Until last month, Breslin had been the owner and director of A Child’s Point of View, which provided adolescent, adult and family psychotherapy from an office located in Orinda. Breslin was prohibited from practicing psychology following a Contra Costa Superior Court order issued Nov. 28.
Breslin was arrested at his residence and made his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco Dec. 19. He is currently being held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Breslin’s next scheduled court appearance is Dec. 21 at 9:30 a.m. for a detention hearing.
“All investigations involving the exploitation of children are heinous, but this case is particularly troubling, given that the accused worked in a position of trust with some of our community’s most vulnerable,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, special agent in charge of HSI San Francisco. “HSI and our law enforcement partners are determined to continue to relentlessly pursue child predators.”
The Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina McCall and Erin Cornell are prosecuting the case.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation was conducted under the auspices of HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
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