The surrogate
It begins with a woman who yearns for a baby and another who is willing and able to give her one. You can imagine the motives of the prospective parents. But what about the woman willing to carry a baby, give birth and then walk away?
Friday Night Rewind It doesn't matter which team you cheer for. We've got video previews of every high school football program in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County.
TAMPA — A federal jury on Thursday convicted a Port Richey physician on six criminal charges relating to child pornography.
Dr. Richard Carino, 48, faces five to 20 years in prison for convictions on each of three counts of receipt of child porn and a maximum of 10 years in prison for convictions on each of three counts of possession of child porn. He will be sentenced before Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich on Oct. 3.
During a four-day trial, jurors learned that Carino first attracted the attention of federal authorities during a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into doctor shopping. Carino is a family practice doctor who specialized in pain management.
When DEA agents executed a search warrant at his office in July 2005, Carino's wife told a detective she had recently discovered her husband downloading child pornography at home.
Investigators recovered illegal images from both Carino's office and home computers.
Autumn Carino, who is now divorced from Richard Carino, testified as the government's star witness. But defense attorney Charles Medlin tried to discredit her accounts and question her character during closing arguments.
Medlin said Autumn Carino told one story at trial about claiming to have found Richard Carino viewing child porn, but a police detective testified that she gave him a different account. Medlin repeatedly called Autumn Carino a liar during closing arguments, telling jurors that if they convicted Richard Carino, they did so based on her lies.
"A vote of not guilty is not a vote for child pornography," Medlin argued. "What it means is you're not going to send somebody with a conviction for this based on the lies of Autumn Carino."
Richard Carino's attorneys called no witnesses at trial and presented no evidence during his defense.
[Last modified: Jul 18, 2008 11:07 AM]
Comments on this article
by Haven
Jul 17, 2008 8:08 AM
No witnesses & no evidence? Great job defense - hope they're all that easy!
by David
Jul 11, 2008 3:29 PM
I just want to state that Dr. Carino was not a Pain Management physician. He was not Certified by the American Board of Pain Medicine or The American Board of Pain Medicine/ Special Qualifications in Pain. He was a GP who wrote narcotics for anyone.
by mm
Jul 11, 2008 3:29 PM
Good lock him up.. from the pic I saw of him i'd never let him be my Dr. He looks creepy! What a sick .. you know what!
by Patricia
Jul 11, 2008 3:29 PM
It only took 3 years to lock this sicko up... let's keep him behind bars. I know his ex and her children are relieved this is over and he is where he belongs.
by CHILLA
Jul 11, 2008 3:29 PM
A TRUSTIN DOCTOR ALL HIGHED UP ON PAINKILLERS AND CHILD PORN,,VERY COMMON THESE DAYS,,THEY JUST DONT GET CAUGHT ,THE WAY THIS ALL WENT DOWN ,,MUST OF BEEN A GOD SENT,,,AS FOR THE REST OF THE FAMILY,,BEING THE PEOPLE YOU ARE ,EVERYONE'S MESSED UP.
by tricia
Jul 11, 2008 3:29 PM
What a waste of an education, I wonder what he did to his young patients...
by patient
Jul 11, 2008 3:29 PM
God is good
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