Stephen McGoldrick

Stephen McGoldrick, a 50-year-old former police constable with Gloucestershire Constabulary, has been spared a custodial sentence after pleading guilty to five counts of making indecent images of children. The case came to light during a police investigation into an unrelated matter in April 2019, when indecent images were discovered on a mobile phone belonging to McGoldrick. This discovery prompted the execution of search warrants in June 2019, leading to the seizure of several electronic devices from his residence.

McGoldrick, who had served with Gloucestershire Constabulary since 2008, resigned from his position in July 2019 before formal charges were brought against him. He entered his guilty plea at Bristol Magistrates' Court in the preceding month. At Bristol Crown Court, Judge Peter Blair sentenced McGoldrick to an 18-month community order, comprising 40 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours of unpaid work. The judge noted that McGoldrick had 'fallen from grace in a massive way' but demonstrated 'considerable remorse', emphasising that the images were 'abhorrent' and involved real victims. Judge Blair stated, 'These were abhorrent images which I believe you now acknowledge and understand have real victims,' and explained that the community order was imposed due to a good prospect of rehabilitation outside of custody.

In mitigation, defence lawyer James Haskell described McGoldrick as being in a 'very bad way' and on a 'path to self-destruction', acknowledging that he knew his actions were wrong. McGoldrick, originally from Aberdare in south Wales, was also required to register as a sex offender for five years. The court heard that nearly 9,000 indecent images were recovered in total. This case, reported by the BBC on 13 August 2019, highlights the serious nature of child sexual exploitation material and the consequences for those in positions of public trust.