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A former Harvard Medical School morgue manager recently entered a plea in relation to an alleged scheme to steal and sell donated body parts.
Cedric Lodge, 57, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to interstate transport of stolen human remains on Wednesday before Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The maximum penalty under federal law is 10 years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the judge after “consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the federal sentencing guidelines,” according to the release.
Former Harvard Medical School morgue manager Cedric Lodge leaves the Warren B. Rudman U.S. Courthouse in Concord, N.H., on June 13, 2023, following his arrest on charges related to an alleged scheme to steal and sell donated body parts. (Steven Porter/Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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Officials said Lodge admitted that from 2018 through at least March 2020 he participated in the sale and interstate transport of human remains stolen from the Harvard Medical School morgue in Massachusetts.
Lodge, then-manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue, removed human remains, including organs, brains, skin, hands, faces, dissected heads and other parts from donated cadavers after they had been used for research and teaching purposes, but before they could be disposed of according to the anatomical gift donation agreement between the donor and the school, according to the release.
He took the remains to his home in New Hampshire without the permission or knowledge of his employer, the donors or donors’ families.
Harvard Medical School called the incident “morally reprehensible.” (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
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After he and his wife sold the remains, they would ship the remains to the buyers in other states or the buyer would take possession directly and transport the remains themselves, according to the release.
Remains stolen and sold by Lodge for a profit were sent to locations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
“Cedric Lodge’s criminal actions were morally reprehensible and a disgraceful betrayal of the individuals who altruistically chose to will their bodies to Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research,” Harvard Medical School Dean George Daley wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The case was investigated by the FBI and other agencies. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
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“While Lodge has agreed to plead guilty and taken responsibility for his crimes, this likely provides little consolation to the families impacted,” Daley added. “We continue to express our deep compassion to all those affected.”
Several defendants charged in related cases pleaded guilty, receiving sentences of about a year in prison.
Denise Lodge and Joshua Taylor are still awaiting sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the East Pennsboro Township Police Department in Pennsylvania.
Harvard University did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
