HOUSTON – A former M.D. Anderson researcher was cleared of child pornography charges Wednesday afternoon by a Harris County grand jury.
Dr. Keping Xie, received a “no bill” at approximately 1 p.m. according to his defense attorney, Nathan Mays.
Xie surrendered himself to authorities on Aug. 20 after learning he was being charged with possession of child pornography. He told Channel 2 Investigates that at the time he was “totally shocked” when he heard of the charge.
Xie told Channel 2 Investigates he had secured various financial grants and was planning to take them with him to a new institution.
“There is economic motivation behind,” he said. “I believe they are motivated to destroy my reputation and my career.”
Since his arrest, May’s hired a leading forensic examiner, who researched Xie’s digital history and found no evidence of child pornography on Xie’s computer or drives. Mays said the report produced by his team was a key piece of evidence that clearly proved his client's innocence. Xie left M.D. Anderson in April after an internal investigation.
As for what he would like to hear from M.D. Anderson? Xie offered the following: “They need to apologize for what they have been doing. They destroyed my reputation, I think intentionally, and destroyed my career and destroyed my family, and they need to apologize for what they have done.”
In a statement, M.D. Anderson stated the following: “As with any case involving suspected images of child pornography, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has legal and ethical obligations to turn over such images to authorities. We appreciate the District Attorney’s efforts in pursing these charges, and we respect the Grand Jury’s decision."
In October, NBC News reported Xie was at the center of a federal investigation into economic espionage. Mays said he has not heard anything surrounding such an investigation.
Mays says while Xie is no longer battling a criminal charge, another fight looms. “The fight on the criminal case is over, but the fight to regain his reputation and to regain his status in the scientific community as one of the leading pancreatic cancer research scientists in the United States and in fact the world, is not over;” Mays said, adding, “I want to see his reputation restored to what it once was.”
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