A doctor who works at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children has been charged with accessing and possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material, according to Toronto police. The physician, identified as Dilan Dissanayake, was arrested on Tuesday, bringing a criminal case against a member of staff at one of Canada's best known children's hospitals.
The charges follow an investigation that had been under way for some time. Police say officers executed search warrants earlier this year, both at the Hospital for Sick Children and at a private residence, as part of the effort to gather evidence in the case before the arrest was ultimately carried out this week.
According to investigators, the material at the centre of the case was allegedly downloaded onto an electronic device. That allegation forms the basis of the two charges the doctor now faces, of accessing and of possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material, though the allegations have not been tested in court and he is presumed innocent.
Police were careful to note the limits of what they have found so far. Investigators say there is no evidence that the material is connected in any way to the doctor's practice as a physician, a distinction intended to separate the criminal allegations from the care he provided to patients at the hospital over the course of his work there.
In a statement, the Hospital for Sick Children sought to reassure the families it serves. SickKids said it had not been notified of any risk to patients and families in connection with the case, and that the doctor was placed on immediate leave as soon as the hospital became aware that he was the subject of an investigation.
The hospital also pointed worried families toward a way to raise questions. Patient families who received care from the doctor and who have concerns have been asked to reach out to the hospital directly by emailing its patient relations office, as the case moves forward and the legal process surrounding the charges begins to unfold.