Child porn offender Ivor Gilfillan could be free within weeks

A SENIOR radiographer at Altnagelvin, sentenced to 18 months for downloading pornographic images of children, may walk free from prison within a matter of weeks.
53-year-old Ivor Gilfillan wept in court as he was sentenced for downloading 26,000 images of children that were described as "repugnant and offensive". Gilfillan, from Burnally Road in Limavady, was also ordered to spend three years on probation and
ADVERTISEMENT
sign the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.
However, he is expected to walk free inside a matter of weeks because he has spent the eight months in custody.
Mr Gilfillan pleaded guilty to fifty specimen charges of making and distributing indecent images of children between June 2004 and last February.
Londonderry Crown Court heard that Gilfillan, who was suspended by hospital authorities, has been in custody since being arrested at his home earlier this year.
A prosecution lawyer called the case "one of the more serious of this nature" and told the court that police had obtained a warrant to search the defendants home after receiving information he was downloading the images.
The court heard that Gilfillan had told police: "I should be dead. I have lost everything" and admitted viewing the images for his own sexual gratification.
Police located 26,451 indecent images on the radiographer's computer, almost 3,500 of which were judged to be in the most serious category.
A defence QC described it as a "sordid and despicable case" and acknowledged that Gilfillan's "reputation in the community is in tatters, irretrievably so."
He added that the defendants job was "effectively gone" abd "the consequences of his guilty plea and the disgrace he has left himself and his family in wallowing in will weigh very heavily in the future."
A reference read out in ciurt from a former colleague described Gilfillan as one of the most "popular and respected members of our large staff".
Judge Desmond Marrinan said the images were "universally repugnant and offensive involving the abuse of real childrem, very sadly young children and, in some cases, babies."
He said it was hard to know why a man of a previous respectable background would "involve yourself in this gross type of behaviour.
"This is not a victimless crime. The faces of the children are real. You did not photograph them but, without people like you, the much more sinister and evil people who abuse these children would have absolutely no market. You play a vital part in this evil enterprise."
Referring to the remorse shown by Gilfillan, the judge said it was obvious "you have been punished a great deal already and will carry the burden of the events with you for the rest of your life."
Mr Marrian said the age of some of the children in the images "attracted particular repugnance...it is not difficult for any being to imagine the fear and distress of the children concerned."
The judge alsi imposed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order which prohibits Gilfillan from owning a computer or accessing the internet, prevents him from communicating with children under 18 and also prevents him from being within 50 metres of any children's facility for the next ten years.

Londonderry Sentinel