PENNSYLVANIA (WHP) — A Berks County doctor pleaded guilty on Friday to several charges, including possession of child pornography and traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct, according to the Department of Justice.
Dr. Habib Bhatti, 44, of Barto, was arrested in September 2025 after traveling across the U.S. to meet minors to engage in commercial sex acts, the DOJ said.
Additionally, Bhatti was said to have recorded himself engaging in sexual acts with minors and possessed child sexual abuse material.
Court filings claimed that, from July to November of 2024, Bhatti used the internet to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a minor into sexual activity. In November, Bhatti traveled to California for illegal sexual acts with a pair of minors.
The DOJ also noted that, in Philadelphia nearly a decade ago, Bhatti sexually exploited a pair of minors by persuading them to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he made visual depictions of the acts.
He was found to have CSAM across multiple devices, with at least one victim being under the age of 12, the DOJ confirmed.
Bhatti further admitted to committing offenses involving additional underage girls, according to a news release. Bhatti would typically meet the children online and offer them money in exchange for sexual photos or for in-person sexual encounters.
The DOJ said the kids were between 14 and 17 years old at the time.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, with a minimum of 15 years in prison.
