Doctor who advertised 'grooming' and 'mentorship' to students is notorious child pornographer, FBI says
A doctor was indicted by federal authorities this month for an alleged massive child porn ring, almost exactly three years after The Daily Wire exposed how high schools across the country were referring students to an apparent pervert who offered a “scholarship” and “grooming.”
Philip Taylor Sobash was arrested last Friday in Austin, Texas, according to an indictment unsealed by the Middle District of Tennessee federal court December 13. The FBI concluded this year that Sobash was a notorious child pornographer called “DiscreetGent,” who was responsible for a “collection of sexually explicit images and videos of about 70 young women and girls.”
The Daily Wire reported on December 15, 2021, that a large number of high schools were putting students directly in touch with Sobash, despite his having been sued at least four times over his alleged sexual conduct and stripped of his medical license in Arkansas.
In October 2021, Sobash put out a press release saying he “decided to contribute to the next generation of doctors via an effective mentorship program,” that he wanted to “groom and encourage” students, and that “mentoring goes beyond what most medical students think about the medical field.” He also set up a website advertising a $1,000 “Dr. Philip Sobash Scholarship” to “give back to the future medical doctors of America.”
Fort Vancouver High School in Vancouver, Washington, instructed high schoolers “with an interest in becoming a medical doctor” to email Sobash their full name, bio, phone number, and address for a chance at $1,000. A sampling of the many other high schools promoting the scholarship include Pearl River High School in New York, the North Ridgeville City Schools in Ohio, the Prairie du Chien Area School District in Wisconsin, the Starmont Community School District in Iowa, the Vinton County, Ohio schools, and Alfred Ely Beach High School in Savannah, Georgia.
At the time, red flags about Sobash were evident. His medical license was surrendered in Arkansas on October 7, 2021, and numerous lawsuits had been filed by women alleging that he exploited them into producing sexual material after luring them with promises of money, then sold it online without their consent. The Daily Wire described four lawsuits that were dropped after apparent cash settlements.
When Sobash practiced at the White River Health System in Batesville, Arkansas and the hospital posted about him online in 2020, numerous women took to the comments section to say he was a predator. One girl from Tennessee wrote that “he tried to fly me out to have sex with him at 16! had to get fbi involved bc he posted nude pics & vids of me at 15!! bc i wouldn’t go see him. not to mention, with ALL my personal info. i’m 20 now & still receive death threats, he’s ruined my life forever.”
That may have been the case that triggered federal charges. Prosecutors said between October 2018 and May 2019, while Sobash lived in Austin, he met a minor from Tennessee on a website that connects women with “sugar daddies.” She told him she was a minor and sent a photo of her driver’s license, prosecutors said. Sobash allegedly sent her thousands of dollars and requested that she send him sexually explicit images of herself. She sent hundreds of such images, and although Sobash promised they would be private, he distributed them online; they were sold online with her first and last name, which led to others contacting her and attempting to blackmail her into producing more child sexual abuse material, they alleged.
Sobash is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, coercion and enticement of a minor, and receipt of child pornography, facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years on the first charge, 10 years on the second, and five years on the third, in addition to a maximum $750,000 fine.
The FBI has asked other victims of Sobash to come forward. “The FBI believes he primarily targeted females between the ages of 15 and 25 from January 2014 through his arrest in December 2024” and that “Numerous victims have reported that after sending sexually explicit images to Sobash, they would be threatened and coerced into producing more imagery,” it said. “The FBI has found dozens of victims’ sexually explicit images for sale online. Sobash used various monikers online, including DiscreetGent, Discreet Gentleman, Discreet Spoiling, Sugar Daddy, Interesting Fun, Honest and Fun, and Excited Guy.”
“Numerous victims have settled civil lawsuits against Sobash and may be bound by non-disclosure agreements. Such agreements are likely unenforceable if designed to prevent victims from reporting crimes to law enforcement,” it said.
Some of the schools did not respond promptly when The Daily Wire notified them in 2021 that they were putting high schoolers in touch with an alleged abuser. Craig Daughtry, the principal of Alfred Ely Beach High School, and Kurt Hetager, communications director for the Savannah-Chatham County (Georgia) Public School System, did not respond to an email whose subject line was “Urgent media request – school website directing students to contact alleged pornographer,” and the school was still advertising the scholarship when the story ran.
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