Police wrongly accused a Halifax-area doctor of possessing child pornography because he had a similar name to someone in Ohio, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia said Monday.

Dr. David Barnett had no connection to the case and has had his medical licence returned.

The college said it reinstated his licence after Halifax provincial court ended the case against Barnett on Monday.

"The Crown has notified the college that law enforcement wrongly identified Dr. Barnett as a person possessing for the purposes of distributing child pornography," Gus Grant, the CEO of the college, said in a statement posted to the college's website.

Grant said someone in Ohio with a similar name and email address has now been arrested over the alleged offence.

"This is a case of mistaken identity," Grant said. "There is no evidence whatsoever connecting Dr. Barnett to matters related to child pornography."

Grant said Barnett's name has been entirely cleared.