No legal basis to appeal paedophile GP sentence, PPS says

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

There is no legal basis to refer the sentence imposed on a GP who had more than 200 indecent images of children to the Court of Appeal, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has said.

Concern had been expressed by some politicians following the sentencing last month of Alan Trevor Campbell, 40, of Silverbrook Park in Newbuildings, Co Derry.

He pleaded guilty to 11 offences around possessing indecent images of children on dates between October 2014 and January 2022.

He was sentenced to 75 hours of community service and was given a two-year probation order at Downpatrick Crown Court.

The PPS had previously said it was considering if there was a legal basis to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal.

But in a statement on Thursday, a spokesperson said it had been “unable to identify any legal error” in the sentencing process in the case.

The spokesperson said: “The PPS recognises that there is rightly public concern when cases involving indecent images of children come before the courts, particularly where the defendant is in a position of trust.

“The courts also recognise that the abuse of young and vulnerable children in the production of indecent images is abhorrent.

“Those who access such material perpetuate the market for this abuse and are guilty by association with those who originally carried out despicable acts in creating the images in the first place.”

The spokesperson said the PPS had taken into consideration the judge’s sentencing remarks and sentencing guidelines in the Campbell case.

The statement added: “While there is understandable condemnation of anyone caught with any amount of indecent images, the independent judiciary have set clear guidelines that have to be followed when sentencing all offenders to ensure a consistency in approach.

“Having carefully considered the detailed sentencing remarks prepared by the judge, we have been unable to identify any legal error and do not consider that this is a case which could be successfully referred to the Court of Appeal on the basis that the sentence was unduly lenient.

“Therefore, there is no legal basis for the PPS to refer it for consideration.”