LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A doctor accused of sending pornographic images to an undercover police detective posing as a teenage girl pleaded not guilty today to five criminal charges.
Jonathon Hagar Ellis, 35, of Long Beach, is charged with four felony counts of distributing or showing pornography to a minor and one misdemeanor count of arranging to meet a minor for lewd purposes.
Ellis -- a resident physician -- allegedly contacted an undercover Los Angeles Police Department officer who was posing as a 16-year-old girl on the Internet, according to police.
He allegedly sent lewd photos and messages and tried to meet her in person for sexual activities despite her supposed age, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Ellis was arrested April 11 by Los Angeles police and subsequently released on an $85,000 bond.
A date is scheduled to be set July 17 for a hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to require him to stand trial.
If convicted as charged, he could face up to six years in custody, according to the District Attorney's Office.
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