Perv Florida doctor posed as teenage boy, sent sex photos to child: sheriff
A Florida doctor was busted Tuesday after Broward County investigators accused him of sending sexually explicit photos of himself to a 13-year-old child while posing as a teenage boy.
The 64-year-old gastroenterologist — who is the second local doctor to face charges involving a child this month — was arrested after a SWAT team raided his home in Parkland and seized numerous electronic devices, authorities said.
Detectives believe Stewart Bitman knew he was communicating with a minor when he sent the victim multiple “sexual text messages” and nude photos of himself, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
One of the photos showed him sitting at a desk while his drawstring shorts and underwear were pulled down, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Florida pediatrician caught with child porn, photos of kids in bathing suits: authorities
Along with the nudes, Bitman reportedly tried to ask the child about class work, writing: “How many classes r u having each day,” and “Looks like a real pain. How many pages?”
His arrest came just two weeks after another Parkland doctor, Michael Mizrachy, was slapped with child porn charges in Broward County.
Authorities said Mizrachy was found with a video that showed “an apparent adult male” sexually assaulting a child who appeared to be between 8 and 10 years old. He’s also accused of having several photos of young children in their bathing suits.
Bitman, who is affiliated with hospitals across Broward and Miami-Dade counties, was charged with three counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor and one count of solicitation of a minor. He was being held on $80,000 bond Wednesday, jail records show.
Detectives are still working to identify additional victims with whom the suspect may have communicated, according to the sheriff’s office.
