A doctor has resigned from his position at SLU Hospital in the wake of receiving serious criminal charges earlier this month. Dr. Ashu Joshi, a 46-year-old resident of Sunset Hills, Mo., was arrested in October after impregnating a 16-year-old and was charged with child pornography and transportation of a minor across state lines for sexual purposes, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

When the Kentucky teen found out she was pregnant, she admitted to police that Joshi was the baby’s father and that he had proposed to her, as stated by Sgt. Adam Kavanaugh of the St. Louis County Special Investigations Unit.

In court, Kavanaugh also stated that Joshi brought the minor across state lines at least twice for sexual relations in his St. Louis County home.
Joshi was initially released on bail after paying a $15,000 bond and signing a contract stating that he would not be in communication with the 16-year-old. He is currently on trial for all charges.

Joshi met the girl through her mother, who was a patient of his. The 16-year-old initially wanted to discuss how Joshi became a doctor because she was considering it as a future career.

After meeting, the pair hit it off and the teen became a babysitter for Joshi’s children, where the relationship between the two began.

According to court records, the teen’s mother knew that her daughter was “dating” Joshi, but she stated that she did not want the relationship to progress the way it did.

In early November, details of the relationship were released when Joshi appeared in court. The pair communicated over Facebook, where they exchanged hundreds of photos and videos. These included child pornography — both of the teen alone and of the pair together. They had also discussed sexual matters and plans to get married in their messages.

Joshi’s lawyer, John Schleiffarth, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Joshi is a “respected physician and member of the community.” Although, respect did not save Joshi’s career; he was reportedly suspended from SSM Health SLU Hospital after the arrest. As of Nov. 1, Joshi resigned from his position in the Internal Medicine Department of the Hospital and is “no longer affiliated with Saint Louis University” according to an announcement to the SLU community by the public relations team. Jeff Fowler, vice president of SLU’s Marketing and Communication declined any further comment on Joshi.

“He looks forward to vindicating his good name,” said Schleiffarth to the Post-Dispatch.

Regardless of Joshi’s professional reputation, the extent of damage dealt by his actions remains to be seen and his sentence is yet to be served.