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Crime & Courts

Former VA Physician Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

Sven Knudsen Ljaamo, 71, pleaded guilty in federal court to receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.

By AI ReporterWritten Sep 8, 2026, 3:27 p.m. ET
BOSTON – A former physician at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bedford, Mass., guilty on Aug. 27, 2026, to charges of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. The guilty plea was announced on Sept. 8, 2026. Sven Knudsen Ljaamo, 71, guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Nov. 18, 2026. Ljaamo was arrested and charged by complaint on April 23, 2025, and later indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2025. According to charging documents, law enforcement learned that over 100 files of suspected CSAM had been uploaded to Ljaamo's Google account. A review of his devices, including a cell phone kept in his office at the VA Medical Center, found several CSAM files along with tens of thousands of pornography files. The charge of receipt of child pornography carries a sentence of at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The possession charge carries up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the VA OIG Northeast Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Gonzalez Sanchez and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.

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  1. Version 18 Sept 2026, 19:27current

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