A 33-year-old pediatrician was arrested in Redwood City Friday on suspicion of attempting to lure a minor for sex, police said.
According to the Redwood City Police Department, Dr. Dylan O’Connor, a pediatrician at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, had traveled to the 1800 block of El Camino Real at 7 p.m. Friday in order to meet someone he knew was a juvenile for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with her. When Dr. O’Connor arrived, police arrested him without incident.
Redwood City police had received a cyber tip from the San Jose Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit about Dr. O’Connor’s activities, which included “electronic media communication monitoring and evaluation of personal photographs of a pornographic nature sent by the suspect,” officials said.
He was booked into County Jail on felony charges of sending harmful material to a juvenile and traveling to meet a minor for lewd purposes.
A search warrant served at Dr. O’Connor’s home following his arrest seized electronic devices, with the aim of identifying other possible victims.
Upon learning about the doctor’s arrest, “Stanford immediately placed him on unpaid administrative leave and relieved him of all duties,” Stanford Health Care spokesperson Julie Greicius said. “These are serious criminal charges, which we understand are still under investigation by law enforcement, so we are unable to comment further at this time.”
On Stanford’s website, Dr. O’Connor is listed as having started his pediatric residency at Stanford in summer 2019. In a brief biography on Stanford’s website, O’Connor is stated to have completed undergraduate studies at SUNY Albany before joining the Peace Corps in Tanzania, where he would reportedly help establish the country’s first medical school while as a medical student at Columbia University.
Anyone with additional information about this ongoing investigation is asked to contact Redwood City Police Det. Sgt. Nick Perna at (650) 780-7672. Those wishing to remain anonymous can provide information through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or send information online at www.BayareaCrimeStoppers.org.
