Sacramento-area doctor accused of child pornography possession may win release

A judge on Thursday ordered the release of a Roseville doctor accused of possessing child pornography, but stayed the order until next week to give prosecutors a chance to appeal.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire agreed to order the release on bail of Dr. Khursheed Haider under strict conditions that he have no unsupervised contact with minors, not return to his Roseville home, wear a monitoring device, surrender his passport and have no access to the internet.

“This looks to me like a releasable case,” Claire said, noting that there are no suggestions that Haider had improper physical contact with minors.

Haider pleaded not guilty Thursday, and Claire agreed to postpone his release until next week to give Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Klein time to appeal the decision to U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley.

Klein had opposed Haider’s release, arguing that he had been found in possession of “disturbing depictions of child abuse,” including a video of a bound and crying child being raped.

Klein also filed a declaration from Jenna Jones, chief of enforcement for the Medical Board of California, asking that Haider not be released without an order prohibiting him from practicing medicine until his case is resolved.

“At this time, there is nothing that prevents the Defendant from opening a private medical office and advertising as a general practitioner and/or urgent care in an attempt to gain access to additional juvenile victims,” Jones wrote. “Second, the Defendant may prescribe controlled and non-controlled medications as a licensed physician and surgeon with a DEA permit.

“Many controlled substances and non-controlled medications can be used to sedate patients and could be used to pacify potential victims. Third, a licensed physician and surgeon has access to private medical information of both patients and their next of kin, which can allow for contact with minor patients and potentially more victims.”

Claire said the medical board had no standing to make such a request and could take action on its own against Haider, if necessary.

Haider attorney Michael Pinkerton argued in a court filing Thursday morning that Haider was not a flight risk and “is a respected and responsible member of the community in general and the medical community in particular.”

Pinkerton added that Haider, 48, “has resided in the Sacramento area for a decade and has deep roots in the community.”

Pinkerton also wrote that Haider poses no threat to his four children, and offered to have the pulmonologist “live in a hotel or other rental property away from his residence” pending the resolution of his case.

“Prior to this case, he has had no brushes with the criminal law in either state or federal court,” Pinkerton wrote.

Pinkerton said Haider would be willing to post up to $1 million in bail and surrender his U.S. passport, as well as an expired Pakistani passport. Haider is a U.S. citizen who was born in Pakistan, Pinkerton wrote.

“Given the allegations in this case, if released Dr. Haider agrees not to possess or use any smart phone or computer connected to the Internet,” Pinkerton wrote, adding that Haider would promise “to obey any reasonable reporting requirements, restrictions on travel or activities.”

“In sum, he will be fully compliant with the orders of this Court.”

Klein argued in court documents that Haider has access to “notable financial resources,” and argued to Claire that he is a flight risk who has traveled overseas 14 times since 2014.

She also noted that Pinkerton’s suggestion that Haider only be allowed to see his children if his wife of another adult supervises the visits is problematic.

“I think his wife is in an untenable situation here,” Klein said as Haider’s wife sat in court behind her shackled husband. “He was doing this in their home right under her nose.”

Klein wrote in court papers that agents retrieved more than 600 images or videos of child pornography from one of Haider’s laptops and at least 11 videos on his iPhone.

“Defendant is a pulmonologist, works at at least one hospital, and also performs video visits; he may have access to children through these aspects of his work,” Klein wrote.

Ultimately, Claire agreed to have Haider post a $500,000 bond secured by equity in his home and arrange for a place to live that is approved by pretrial services and not within 100 feet of a school, playground or other site where children may be present.

He was ordered to have a curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and have no access to medical records of minors or treat minors. He also was ordered not to have access to cellphones, computers or similar devices.

“You must not access the internet at any time,” Claire said, adding that he could not have unsupervised contact with children.

Claire stayed her own release order until 2 p.m. Monday, saying that Haider could not be released from jail unless Nunley agreed with her decision, and even then may not be released until 9 a.m. of the day after such a decision.

Pinkerton’s bail motion says he does not treat minors in his job as an intensive care unit physician at a Fairfield hospital.

A spokeswoman for NorthBay Health’s medical center there said Haider is not an employee of the hospital but a contract worker.

“We are aware of the charges pending against Khursheed Haider,” the statement read. “He is not an employee of NorthBay but a contracted physician on medical staff.

“He is not on the schedule to see any patients. The safety and well-being of our patients and staff remains, as always, our top priority.”

Haider’s LinkedIn profile listed him earlier this week as a vice president of clinical operations of VeeOne Health, a Roseville-based telehealth platform, but officials there said Tuesday, the day The Sacramento Bee first reported on Haider’s arrest, that he no longer works there.

“As of this morning, Dr. Khursheed Haider is no longer employed at VeeOne Health,” executives at VeeOne wrote in an email to The Bee. “The association of VeeOne Health with Dr. Haider is unrelated to his arrest.”

Haider was arrested Nov. 20 following a search of his Roseville home and Mercedes-Benz that resulted from an FBI undercover investigation that began with the arrest of a suspect in Honolulu, court records say.

Haider was charged by criminal complaint with a single count of possession of child pornography.

On Thursday, a federal grand jury indicted Haider on one count of distributing child pornography and a count of possessing child pornography.

“If convicted of distribution of child pornography, Haider faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, restitution, and a $250,000 fine,” U.S. Attorney Phil Talbert’s office said in a new release. “If convicted of possession of child pornography, Haider faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, restitution, and a $250,000 fine.”

This story was originally published November 30, 2023 at 11:26 AM.