Doncaster paramedic is struck off following child sex conviction

Julian Maher, who was found guilty of making nearly 800 indecent indecent images of children and who was sentenced earlier this year, was kicked out of the medical profession following a hearing by the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPC).

Maher, 55, who worked for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust as an acting clinical supervisor and paramedic, was told: “Only a Striking Off order would be sufficient to protect the public, to maintain public confidence in the profession and to declare and uphold proper standards of conduct in the paramedic profession.”

On January 11 this year, he was convicted of making 132 Category A indecent photographs of children, 143 category B pictures and 512 category C photos.

He was also found guilty of possession of a prohibited image of a child.

Maher, who was not present at the tribunal was sentenced by His Honour Judge Kelson QC to ten months imprisonment concurrent on all four counts, suspended for two years, to 40 days’ rehabilitation activity, 200 hours of unpaid work, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years and a notification requirement of ten years under the Sexual Offences Act.

The hearing was told that the offending extended over some twelve years and so indicated that the Maher had a long-term interest in indecent images of children.

The tribunal also heard Maher and denied the pictures were his, seeking to place the blame on another person for the duration of the police investigation until he finally pleaded guilty at his trial.

The hearing said: “The Registrant (Maher) had provided the Panel with no evidence of insight, remorse or remediation

“Given the long period of the offending behaviour and the lack of any remediation, there was a significant risk of repetition and of future harm.

It added: “A conviction for the offences of making or possessing indecent photographs of children is an extremely serious matter, as ultimately it involves the exploitation and abuse of vulnerable children. The Panel was of the view that an HCPC registrant who is convicted of such offences undermines public confidence in the profession and in the HCPC as its regulator.“Further, the Panel concluded that the limited remorse demonstrated focussed on his own interests and did not acknowledge the impact of his offences on the victims, or upon his colleagues, his profession and the HCPC as regulator.

The panel further concluded that Maher showed no insight or understanding of the impact of his criminal behaviour and added: “These offences are not victimless crimes: they involve the abuse and exploitation of vulnerable children and perpetuate the market for illegal indecent material.”

The hearing took into account that there was no information before it to suggest that the offending behaviour took place in the Maher’s workplace, but added: "The panel was mindful that during the long period of the offences, the registrant was practising as a paramedic and was also during this time responsible for the supervision of other paramedics.

"Members of the public would be horrified to learn that that a practising paramedic with access to vulnerable patients held a such a conviction and that public confidence in the profession, and in the HCPC as its regulator, would be undermined.”

The hearing said Maher’s conviction had brought the profession into disrepute, adding: “He has breached a fundamental tenet of the profession, the requirement to be honest and trustworthy. He has acted in such a way that his integrity can no longer be relied upon.”

In his defence, Maher’s defence team had told the criminal hearing that he had “saved a lot of lives as a paramedic for fifteen years” and that “he’s delivered, he thinks, fifteen babies that might not have been safely delivered without him. He’s helped a lot of people, to put it frankly, that would have died if it hadn’t been for him”;

In conclusion, the hearing said: “The breach of standards in this case was serious.

"The Panel could not have confidence that the behaviour was unlikely to be repeated and had no evidence that the Registrant had attempted to remedy his failings.

"The case involved sexual misconduct in that it concerned the offence of making indecent images of children.

"There was a lack of insight and an absence of evidence of any action taken by the Registrant to remedy the issues.

"The Panel had concluded there was a risk of repetition.

"Further, the Registrant will be subject to the sex offender notification requirement for the remainder of 10 year period which is incompatible with continued registration.

"For all these reasons, the Panel concluded that only a Striking Off order would be sufficient to protect the public, to maintain public confidence in the profession and in the regulatory process, and to declare and uphold proper standards of conduct in the paramedic profession.”