Former MD Anderson pediatric doctor pleads not guilty to child porn charges

HOUSTON – A former MD Anderson pediatric cancer doctor accused in a child pornography case pleaded not guilty to his charges on Thursday.

Dr. Dennis Hughes was charged with receipt, access and possession of child pornography after authorities found hundreds of images of children in lewd acts on his files.  

An affidavit stated Hughes told investigators at his residence that they would find around 10 gigabytes of child pornography on a flash drive. Hughes allegedly told FBI agents that "he would download child pornography onto an external flash drive and would then erase and clean the drive and start over," the affidavit states.

FBI agents said they found around 8,200 files on two separate thumb drives, and that the majority of the files were considered child pornography.

MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital confirmed to KPRC 2 News that Hughes was previously a pediatric oncologist and an associate professor of Pediatrics at the center.

Attorney Neal Davis said Hughes is married with three children, and that there is no allegation that Hughes did anything improper with his children.