WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Palm Beach Gardens attorney who represented children who were alleged victims of sexual abuse has been arrested on possession of child pornography.
Michael T. Dolce, 53, of West Palm Beach, faces federal charges and was expected to appear Thursday at the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach.
According to the federal criminal affidavit, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Dolce's West Palm Beach apartment March 15 and discovered him downloading child porn using peer-to-peer software.
Federal prosecutors said nearly 2,000 images and videos of child porn were recovered from his devices.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Dolce was a partner at the Palm Beach Gardens office of Cohen Milstein, where he led the firm's sexual abuse, sex trafficking and domestic violence team. His name was no longer listed on the law firm's website Thursday morning.
"The firm is stunned and saddened by these appalling allegations," a statement from Cohen Milstein said. "Michael Dolce was terminated and is no longer affiliated with the firm. We are focused on attending to the needs of our clients and staff and continuing to cooperate fully with the investigation."
Dolce's LinkedIn profile claims his practice was "dedicated to representing survivors of sexual crimes, including child and adult victims, and adult survivors of child sexual abuse."
According to his Florida Bar member profile, Dolce has been practicing law in the state since 1995 and has not been disciplined in the last 10 years.