A DENTIST IN the upscale Manhattan neighbourhood of Chelsea was today arrested and charged with trading dental treatment for meth, as well as possessing and distributing child abuse images of an exceptionally disturbing nature.
It began as a “simple drug case,” in the words of one federal agent, but was revealed to be ”darker” than anything he had ever experienced.
John Wolf, 59, was arrested at his home in New York earlier today, and appeared in court in Brooklyn this evening.
The well-known dentist is charged with regularly giving a known drug dealer free dental treatment, in return for a free supply of the drug methamphetamine, some for distributing to others, and some for his own consumption.
His alleged possession and distribution of child pornography only came to light after the drug dealer was arrested in March, and offered to give the authorities evidence about a number of people.
He was then asked to take part in a sting operation involving secret recordings, and conducted by the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to a criminal complaint filed yesterday and made public today after Wolf’s arrest, the dentist freely told the drug dealer he had drugged a man with ketamine, before raping him.
Wolf, who reportedly claims to be HIV positive, was heard on secret recordings telling the drug dealer that he routinely and deliberately punctures holes in condoms before having sex.
It has emerged that Wolf was once a leading advocate against HIV/AIDS-based discrimination in New York, and won a high-profile lawsuit against a landlord who ended his lease when he discovered Wolf was treating HIV positive patients.
This video shows Wolf discussing the case on a local TV chat show in 1988.
In conversations with the drug dealer, it is alleged that Wolf also showed him images on his mobile phone of abuse involving infants and toddlers, and claimed he was involved in underground sex parties throughout New York, which involved bestiality.
Wolf said he had even used the basement of his dentist’s office to host an event where he and others engaged in sexual acts with animals.
As part of the FBI sting operation, Wolf invited the co-operating drug dealer’s “roommate” back to his office, having been told he was equally interested in child pornography.
The roommate – in actual fact an undercover agent – secretly recorded their meeting, which took place on Monday.
There, Wolf told the agent he preferred “more perverted” child pornography websites, before showing him a USB drive containing 246 files, most of them videos of horrendous child abuse.
On a big screen in his office, the dentist played 35 minutes of video, involving girls aged 5 to 13 being forced into sexual acts with adults and other children.
Descriptions of some of the material allegedly possessed by Wolf are too disturbing to include in this article, and involve children as young as two years old.
While viewing the images with the FBI agent, Wolf is alleged to have said “Oh my God,” and “That’s some twisted shit.”
He was arrested earlier today at his apartment on Charles Street, in the upscale West Village neighbourhood of Manhattan.
If convicted, he could face a maximum of life in prison, although federal guidelines suggest his potential sentence would be likely to be between 14 and 18 years, according to prosecutors.
According to New York state records, Wolf has been a licensed dentist since 1984.
He has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from putative patients on the consumer website Yelp, with one person calling him:
The most brilliant dentist I have ever encountered.
DEA Special Agent in Charge James Hunt, who helped run the sting operation, said in s statement today:
Drug investigations have taken us down dark roads before, but nothing darker than the office practices of Dr. Wolf.
Warning: The criminal complaint against John Wolf contains descriptions of child sexual abuse that many readers may find extremely upsetting, but can be read here.
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