Montco Doctor Met Children On The Internet, Recorded Sexual Abuse: Feds

POTTSTOWN, PA — A Montgomery County doctor contacted numerous children on the Internet to coerce them into sexual activity which he then recorded and kept, federal authorities said.

Habib Bhatti, 44, of Barto on the Montgomery County border, has agreed to a deal and plead guilty to production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and numerous related counts, the US Attorney's Office in the eastern district of Pennsylvania announced.

Bhatti practiced medicine at Pottstown Hospital, but was also associated with Jefferson Torresdale, Bucks, and Frankford hospitals.

Incident occurred around the region from July 2024 to Nov. 2024, authorities said. Bhatti then traveled to California for further child sexual abuse in Nov. 2024, according to federal officials. Previous abuses also occurred in Philadelphia in Dec. 2018.

In many cases, Bhatti met girls aged 14 to 17 online and offered them money in exchange for either sexually explicit photos or in-person sexual relations, authorities said. Investigators found evidence of at least 24 such cases.

Some of the child pornography found on Bhatti's devices also included a minor under the age of 12, police said.

Bhatti was arrested in Sept. 2025 and charged this June before issuing his guilty plea July 17.

He will sentenced Oct. 29 and he faces a maximum of life in prison and mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison.