Former Grady Hospital Emergency Room Doctor Convicted of Child Exploitation Crimes

A federal jury today returned guilty verdicts against DR. ADAM WAYNE LEBOWITZ, 50, of Decatur, Georgia, on one count of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in unlawful sex acts. The jury found him not guilty on another count of producing child pornography.

Acting United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of the verdicts, “If not for the diligence of a mother and her son, and the quick work of county and federal law enforcement, this doctor could still be preying upon young victims. As a doctor, this defendant was responsible for protecting the health and safety of children, but instead endangered the physical and emotional safety of children by exploiting them. He will no longer be able to do that behind the bars of a federal prison.”

FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Greg Jones said, “Dr. Lebowitz had a bright career wherein he had committed himself to helping others. Dr. Lebowitz forfeited that career by instead engaging in acts that exploited minor children and further acts that, without law enforcement intervention, would have exploited and victimized a minor child. This is a very unfortunate case but one that should serve as an example to parents that predators come from all walks of life and that parents must remain vigilant in order to play a role in proactively protecting their children.”

Coweta County Sheriff Michael Yeager said, “The Coweta County Sheriff's Office appreciates the work of the U.S. Attorney's Office and all agencies involved in bringing this case forward. Hopefully a very long period of incarceration will follow so no one else will encounter this individual.”

Clayton County Police Chief Timothy Robinson said, “I am proud to have our agency working closely with the FBI and the Safe Child Task Force. Because of the hard work, dedication and collaboration of these agencies, another child predator is off of our streets. It is just another example of how communities benefit from Multi-Jurisdictional Task Forces.”

According to Acting United States Attorney Yates, and the evidence presented in court: LEBOWITZ came to the attention of law enforcement officers at the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office on October 26, 2006, afer a victim, a 15-year-old boy, received a series of e-mails on the MySpace website, and sexually graphic instant messages on the AOL website, from LEBOWITZ. The victim’s mother contacted the sheriff’s office and reported these online messages sent by LEBOWITZ to her son. The sheriff's office then began an undercover investigation of LEBOWITZ that culminated in his arrest in the driveway of the victim’s home on November 2, 2006. Evidence at trial showed LEBOWITZ had planned to transport the victim to LEBOWITZ’s home in Decatur, Georgia, and had multiple condoms and sexual lubricants inside his vehicle at the time of his arrest.

Following the arrest, the sheriff’s office obtained and executed a warrant to search LEBOWITZ’s home. During the search, investigators seized three computers, two of which contained video recordings of LEBOWITZ engaged in sex acts with two young boys. Investigators discovered that these same video recordings were located on a VHS tape found inside his home during the search. Members of the FBI’s “Safe Child Task Force” identified the victims in the video recordings and contacted them. Both victims revealed that LEBOWITZ had recorded himself engaged in graphic sex acts with these victims when both were minors. An examination of LEBOWITZ’s computers, performed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), revealed that LEBOWITZ had sent images from his recordings of the two young victims over the Internet. He was indicted on the charges on June 12, 2007, and a superseding indictment was filed on February 9, 2010.

A sentencing date for LEBOWITZ has not yet been set before United States District Judge Richard W. Story. LEBOWITZ faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison up to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment as to Count Two of producing pornography, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison up to a maximum sentence of life in prison on Count Three, the attempt to coerce a minor.

This case was investigated by members of the FBI’s “Safe Child Task Force,” the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, the Clayton County Police Department, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) with valuable assistance from U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Computer Forensics Division. Assistance in this case has also been provided by the Coweta County District Attorney’s Office.

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