SickKids hospital in Toronto in February, 2023. Police say they have found no evidence that the material linked to the charges is related to Dissanayake’s work as a physician.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Toronto police arrested a doctor at the Hospital for Sick Children on Tuesday, charging him with accessing and possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material.
Investigators said they arrested 44-year-old Dilan Dissanayake after an investigation that began in January.
Police said they carried out searches at the hospital and a private home in February and seized several devices, including a work computer.
They said they have found no evidence that the material linked to the charges is related to Dissanayake’s work as a physician.
SickKids said it is “deeply upset and dismayed” by the allegations and that the doctor was immediately placed on leave after the hospital became aware of the police investigation.
“SickKids has not been notified of any risk to patients and families, and the Toronto Police Service has indicated there is no evidence that the charges are connected to Dr. Dissanayake’s medical practice,” the hospital said in a statement.
Dissanayake was previously listed as a staff rheumatologist at SickKids but he no longer appeared in the hospital’s online directory on Tuesday afternoon.
He was also listed on the University of Toronto’s website as an assistant professor at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine but that page could not be found Tuesday afternoon.
According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Dissanayake is a specialist in both rheumatology and pediatrics and obtained his medical degree from the University of Toronto in 2014.