McCandless Doctor to Stand Trial on Child Pornography Charges

A McCandless family practice doctor arrested July 19 on child pornography charges has waived his right to a preliminary hearing and agreed to allow his case to go directly to trial, according to court records.

Dr. Mark Janosko, 47, faces one count each of child pornography and dissemination of child pornography. He is scheduled for formal arraignment on Sept. 12.

According to the criminal complaint, Janosko admitted he had been viewing and downloading child pornography on and off for years. He also told investigators that "he could stop anytime," and that it was "not uncontrollable." The criminal complaint also stated that Janosko was aware that it is illegal to view and possess child pornography and "he had never touched a child." 

Janosko is a family physician with West Penn Medical Associates, located on Friendship Avenue, directly across the street from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC in Lawrenceville.

"Although there is no evidence that Janosko has had any inappropriate physical contact with any of his younger patients the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office is asking any parent who may have concerns about how their child was treated to call the office at (412) 388-5300," a release said.

A receptionist at West Penn Associates said he is now on leave, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Court records indicate he is free on $250,000 bond.

According to the criminal complaint, a detective in the Indiana County district attorney's office who was monitoring online file sharing services used by people who share and download child pornography noticed the doctor's downloads on July 3 and contacted Allegheny County authorities.

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