A former Gloucestershire Police officer, Stephen McGoldrick from Aberdare, has evaded incarceration after confessing to collecting over 8,000 obscene photos of minors.
PC Stephen McGoldrick, 50, resigned from Gloucestershire Police following charges of five counts related to the creation of obscene pictures of children.
He attended Bristol Crown Court on Wednesday for sentencing following his prior admission of the offences.
Stephen McGoldrick, residing on Gadlys Street in Aberdare, received an 18-month community order, which includes 40 days of rehabilitation and a mandate to complete 150 hours of unpaid labour.
Judge Peter Blair QC, the Recorder of Bristol, additionally mandated that McGoldrick be registered as a sex offender for five years and be subjected to a sexual harm prevention order for the same duration.
In delivering the sentence, the court stated: “These were reprehensible images that I believe you now recognise and comprehend have actual victims.”
Your reputation has significantly decreased due to your previous role as a police officer. You have demonstrated significant contrition.
I impose this sentence due to my conclusion that rehabilitation is more effectively attained through a community order than a jail sentence.
“You belong to a category in which the public will benefit more from this type of sentence.”
The court was informed that indecent photos were retrieved from a mobile phone owned by Stephen McGoldrick during a police investigation into an unrelated issue in April of this year.
Subsequent investigations were conducted, and search warrants were executed at locations in Stroud, Gloucestershire, and Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in June.
A total of 8,519 obscene photographs were discovered upon the examination of many recovered electronic devices, comprising five in category A, eight in category B, and the remaining in category C.
Stephen McGoldrick, who commenced his tenure with Gloucestershire Police in 2008, resigned before to being charged in July and subsequently pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court last month.
James Haskell, in defence, stated: “The convictions have already resulted in substantial repercussions for him.” He acknowledges that he has irrevocably forfeited his integrity and feels remorse for subjecting his family to his actions.
Mr. Haskell elucidated that Stephen McGoldrick had endured considerable personal challenges in recent years, providing financial support to his girlfriend during an extended custody dispute, which resulted in him accumulating debts amounting to £36,000.
The court was informed that Stephen McGoldrick faced difficulties coping with his partner’s cancer diagnosis, the passing of his elder brother, and his mother’s declining health.
“All of this brought him to the brink of collapse and resulted in his engagement with illicit pornography,” Mr. Haskell stated.
“Stephen McGoldrick acknowledges the wrongdoing but was evidently in a dire state and, in his own words, was on a trajectory towards self-destruction.”
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