Doncaster paramedic struck off over possession of 800 incident images of children

Julian Maher, who was found guilty of making nearly 800 indecent indecent images of children and 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 downloading 132 Category A indecent photographs of children, 143 category B pictures and 512 category C photos.

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. He also handed 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.

Maher reportedly 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 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”.