E. Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California
A former gynecologist from Newport Beach, Mark Albert Rettenmaier, has entered a guilty plea to federal charges related to the possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The 72-year-old resident of Laguna Hills admitted to two counts of possessing child pornography and is currently out on a $600,000 bond.
Rettenmaier's plea agreement details that he uploaded 15 images of CSAM to an Adobe cloud-based storage system on June 7, 2020. Among these were at least four images depicting minors, including one under the age of 12, in sexually explicit situations.
Subsequent investigations led law enforcement officers to execute a search warrant at Rettenmaier’s home on July 22, 2020. They seized his cellphone and laptop. A review revealed additional CSAM content: at least two images on the cellphone and over 209 images along with one video on the laptop. Rettenmaier acknowledged that he had knowingly downloaded this material from the internet onto his devices.
United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett has scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 6. Rettenmaier could face up to 20 years in federal prison for each count. However, prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence not exceeding five years.
Additionally, Rettenmaier will be required to pay a minimum restitution of $3,000 to each of six victims identified in this case, totaling at least $18,000.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Assistant United States Attorney Melissa Rabbani from the Orange County Office is handling prosecution duties.
