A UC San Francisco psychiatry resident pleaded not guilty Monday to child pornography charges at a hearing in which prosecutors sought to increase his bail based on the “sheer volume” of images seized by police.
Billy Lockhart, 36, had already been free after posting $155,000 bail before appearing in court. He is on administrative leave from his position and left court without comment, wearing a baseball cap and dark glasses.
His attorney, Charles Smith, also declined comment outside court.
At a brief bail hearing, prosecutor Adam Maldonado asked Superior Court Judge Sharon Reardon to double bail.
“This is not a typical child pornography case,” Maldonado said, based on the “sheer volume” of more than 1,500 images and 280 videos, some of them depicting infants as young as 6 months old allegedly being victimized.
Lockhart allegedly kept “manuals” and other writings about child molestation.
“That alone, in the people’s view, warrants an increase in bail,” Maldonado said. Lockhart also constituted a flight risk, the prosecutor argued to the court.
Local
Smith, Lockhart’s attorney, said his client was an intern at the hospital and had limited financial means. He said the original bail was based on the two charges, including one count alleging possession of more than 600 images.
“Despite the charges, he’s led an exemplary life,” Smith told the judge. He said Lockhart was the child of a single mother who put himself through Yale Medical School and had spent two years in the Peace Corps.
Reardon said bail will remain the same but told prosecutors she would reconsider the matter if they filed a formal motion. The judge ordered that Lockhart stay away from children and only use the phone.
“I would stay off computers completely,” she warned him.
Outside court, District Attorney’s spokesman Alex Bastian called the case “disturbing” and “unique” based on the volume of images involved and the position of the defendant at UCSF.
