By the Daily Post staff
A Menlo Park doctor appeared in U.S. District Court in San Francisco this morning (Aug. 20) on a charge of possession of child pornography, according to prosecutors.
Joseph Andrew Mollick, 58, used the social media application Kik to upload an image depicting child pornography, federal prosecutors said. They added that he possessed on his Apple iCloud account hundreds of images and videos of child pornography.
At the end of today’s hearing, Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero agreed to release Mollick on $50,000 unsecured bond.
Kik, based in Ontario, Canadam is a free smartphone messenger app that lets users connect with their friends and world around them through chat. Users can send text, pictures, videos and more with the Kik app via mobile messaging.
A criminal complaint written by Homeland Security Special Agent Nihad Custo said that Kik discovered that a user named “buckminster1” uploaded a child porn image that matched one in the Microsoft database.
Kik found the image by using Microsoft technology that scans pictures uploaded by its users and compares them to know child pornography images, the complaint said.
Kik notified law enforcement in Canada, who turned over the case to Homeland Security, the complaint said.
Homeland Security identified Mollick after issuing subpoenas to Comcast, his internet provider, and Apple. Apple provided the media files from Mollick’s iCloud account.
Agent Custo then submitted the media files to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children for review. That organization said the files include 384 images and 530 videos that appear to contain child victims who have been identified by law enforcement.
The Post is attempting to contact Mollick or his public-defender attorney, Dan Blank, for comment.
