A Toronto pediatrician accused of uploading child sexual abuse material (CSAEM) from the Hospital for Sick Children’s network retained his medical license for six months after police launched an investigation into his conduct.
Dr. Dilan Dissanayake, a staff rheumatologist, became the subject of a Toronto police investigation on January 20, after authorities received a tip that CSAEM had been uploaded to a personal Dropbox account accessed via an IP address geolocated to the hospital.
While SickKids placed Dissanayake on leave on January 28—the same day police searched his office—the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) did not suspend his medical license until July. The suspension occurred only after formal charges of possessing and accessing CSAEM were laid against him.
Neither the CPSO nor Dissanayake confirmed whether he practiced medicine in other settings during the six-month window between the start of the investigation and his license suspension. Dr. Shannon Ruzycki, a professor at the University of Calgary, criticized the delay, arguing that regulators should prioritize patient safety by suspending licenses immediately upon the emergence of such serious allegations.
"If the CPSO hadn't restricted his licence, he could've still been [practising medicine], even if not at the hospital itself," Ruzycki noted.
Police searches of Dissanayake’s home and office resulted in the seizure of multiple electronic devices. Court filings allege that investigators discovered additional CSAEM on a work computer seized from his office in February. Toronto police have stated that, at this stage of the ongoing investigation, there is no evidence the alleged material is connected to Dissanayake’s clinical interactions with patients.
Dissanayake is currently out on $20,000 bail with conditions restricting his internet use and contact with minors. His next court appearance is scheduled for November 10.
