Dr. David Shawn Kennedy, the Pennsburg pediatrician accused of possessing sexually explicit images of children, died Sunday, according to Kate Delano, the director of communications for the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

                Kennedy died in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, according to Delano.

                The county's detective bureau is investigating the death, Delano said, adding that the agency investigates all fatalities that occur at the jail, located in Eagleville.

                The Montgomery County Coroner's Office issued a temporary death certificate following the completion of an autopsy Sunday, according to Alexander Balacki, the first deputy coroner. Balacki said the cause of death has not been determined.

                "We can't release any of the findings, but we are working closely with the district attorney's office," he said Monday afternoon.

                The pathologist who completed the autopsy – Dr. Gregory McDonald, the office's chief deputy coroner – will determine the final cause of death. That determination could take from three to five weeks, following the completion of the toxicologist report, Balacki said.

                A preliminary hearing in the criminal case against Kennedy, before Red Hill District Judge Catherine Hummel Fried, was scheduled for Wednesday morning. Authorities arrested Kennedy, 48, Nov. 28 after photos of children – who appeared to be younger than age 18, naked and in sexually suggestive poses – were discovered on his cell phone.

                The physician, who owned the Personal Care Pediatric medical practice at 925 Main St. in Pennsburg, faced five counts of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility, according to the police criminal complaint.

                Kennedy opened an office on Geryville Pike in Upper Hanover in 2008, after 10 years of practice. The office eventually moved to its current location in Pennsburg.

                The physician previously worked in Pottstown and Gilbertsville.