High Court suspends registration of doctor accused of possessing 'extremely pornographic images'

Anne O'Loughlin

The High Court has agreed to suspend a doctor’s Medical Council registration after he was charged in the UK with offences related to alleged possession of indecent images of children.

The doctor is a resident of the UK and practised there, although his licence to practise was removed earlier this year. He has never practised in Ireland, despite his registration with the Medical Council.

The Medical Council made an application to the High Court to suspend the doctor’s registration after it became aware of the allegations against him.

Earlier this year, the doctor was charged by British police with various offences, including possession of 19 “extreme pornographic images”, and the “making” of 146 Category A images of children. Category A is the most serious category of indecent images.

The doctor strenuously denies the allegations.

In a recently published judgment, High Court president Mr Justice David Barniville said he was satisfied the interest of public safety favoured granting the orders sought by the Medical Council to suspend the doctor’s registration.

Mr Justice Barniville said it was “hard to imagine” more serious allegations than those faced by the doctor, while stressing that he was not making any finding in relation to the charges.

In coming to his decision, the judge weighed the doctor’s constitutional rights, including his right to earn a livelihood and the right to a good name and reputation.

The judge accepted the Medical Council’s submission that not much weight should be attached to the doctor’s right to earn a living in Ireland, in circumstances where he has never sought to practise medicine in this jurisdiction.

The judge also said he did not believe the doctor’s right to a good name should “trump the need to ensure that the public is protected in this jurisdiction”.

When the doctor filed a registration retention form with the Medical Council for 2024, the doctor answered “no” to a question asking whether he was aware of any criminal investigation against him.

By the time he filed the form, the doctor had already been arrested and interviewed by police.

At the hearing of the Medical Council’s application, barrister Hugh McDowell, for the council, submitted that the doctor had provided no explanation why he answered so.

In October 2023, police received information that six indecent images of children were uploaded to the internet using a Google account it said was linked to the doctor.

He was arrested following this, and various devices were seized from his address. Police uncovered further images on these devices, including the Category A images.