A pediatric dentist with an office in Framingham was arraigned today, Dec. 27 on charges of possession of child pornography for images allegedly found on his laptop computer, said Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone in a press release.

Melvin A. Ehrlich, 52, of Millis, was arraigned today in Framingham District Court on charges of possession of child pornography (three counts) and distribution of child pornography (two counts). 

He pled not guilty on the charges.

The Commonwealth requested that the defendant be held on $25,000 cash bail with the following conditions: commit no crimes, have no contact with children under 18, no unsupervised contact with his own child, no employment or volunteer work with children under 18, no computer or Internet use, and wear a GPS monitor and check in with probation. 

Framingham District Court Judge Robert Greco released the defendant on $10,000 cash bail with conditions to commit no new crimes and no use of computer except at place of business for work-related purposes only.

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The defendant’s next court date is February 11 for a pre-trial conference.

“These are disturbing allegations where the defendant, who works with children of all ages on a daily basis, was downloading and distributing commercially-traded child pornography images,” Leone said in a press release.  “I commend the work of multiple law enforcement agencies, including Framingham Police, State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Marshal’s Service for the collaborative and thorough investigation to bring these charges forward. Children are our most vulnerable victims and we will continue to prosecute to the fullest extent those who exploit them.”

 According to authorities, Ehrlich sent his laptop computer to a service provider for maintenance work to remove a reported virus from the computer.  While working on Ehrlich’s laptop, the service provider observed downloaded images of child pornography.  The service provider called Framingham Police, who immediately launched an investigation.

An extensive forensic investigation was conducted and revealed that Ehrlich used this laptop computer under various user names to download and distribute commercially traded child pornography images.  The data recovered was sent to and confirmed to be commercially traded child pornography by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Ehrlich is a pediatric dentist who operates a business called Wee Care for Kids in Framingham. 

While the case remains under development and investigation, there is currently no evidence that presently leads law enforcement to believe that Ehrlich physically abused any children or manufactured any images of child pornography.

Anyone with information should contact Framingham Police 508-872-1212 or the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office Child Abuse Unit at 781-897-8400.

These charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The case is being investigated by Framingham Police, State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Marshal’s Service.