The prosecutor read horrifying accounts, going into details and some of the evidence authorities have collected against Dr. Albina. Most of what was said in court is not fit to be posted here, but it did seem to do the trick with the judge who ordered Dr. Albina to be held on a $400,000 bond.
"You are charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14," read the judge.
As the judge read the list of charges against Dr. Albina, the orthopedic surgeon showed no emotion. Even during disturbing descriptions of how he allegedly assaulted his young patients, the doctor simply stood with arms crossed.
"Bernard Albina is one of the most obsessed child molesters I have seen since I've been on the unit," said Officer J.T. Roscoe with the Houston Police Department.
Houston police told Eyewitness News they began investigating the doctor two years ago when the now 24-year-old man reported that he had been repeatedly assaulted since the age of five. Their investigation has so far identified at least four potential victims.
Two weeks ago, law enforcement seized evidence from Dr. Albina's two offices in the St. Joseph Medical Center, his home in Piney Point Village, and at a storage unit facility.
A prosecutor on Wednesday revealed that officers have seized more than a 100 CDs and DVDs, along with pornographic images, from the doctor's offices. She said several of those items were labeled with the name of a 12-year-old boy who police found last week. He told authorities he had been assaulted seven times in the last two months by Dr. Albina.
The prosecutor also said that authorities have reviewed Dr. Albina's financial records, finding that he is believed to have paid off at least two of his victims. One of them is believed to have received about $155,000 for his silence after Albina allegedly assaulted him since the age of five to adulthood at an office in the 2100 block of Crawford.
Even though police say Albina may have been victimizing children as far back as the 1980s, the law is now on the victims' side.
"It was actually expanded to 20 years after the 18th birthday, unless there's DNA evidence. Then it can be lifetime," said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Eric Devlin.
Anyone with information on other possible victims is urged to call the HPD Juvenile Division at 713-731-5335 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
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