The scientific director of artificial intelligence medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of possession of child pornography and distribution of obscene materials.
Guido Germano, 59, of Santa Monica, was arrested June 19 and released on bond. The two felony charges against him were filed on July 23.
Prosecutors allege Germano distributed child porn videos using peer-to-peer software and downloaded the material onto his personal computer at home.
Outside court, Germano's attorney declined to comment on the case.
Germano is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Aug. 29, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to trial. He faces up to three years and eight months in prison if convicted as charged.
Cedars-Sinai issued a statement confirming that Germano is employed by the hospital.
"Cedars-Sinai does not condone illegal activity of any kind," the hospital's statement says. "We will fully cooperate with any law enforcement investigation stemming from this matter. As soon as we learned of the issue today, Guido Germano was placed on administrative leave."
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According to the hospital's website, Germano is "widely recognized as an expert in the field of cardiovascular nuclear medicine."
The site credits Germano with the "creation of new artificial intelligence techniques to accurately determine the location of the heart from 3-D tomographic images, estimate epicardial and endocardial boundaries and quantify heart volumes in a completely automated fashion."
