A prominent Adelaide cardiologist who had more than 9,000 files which included "deviant, distressing and disturbing" child abuse material will spend at least one year behind bars. Andrew Douglas McGavigan, 49, of Hawthorn, pleaded guilty to accessing and possessing child abuse material and using a carriage service last year.
Police also found records of online communication between McGavigan and other people about engaging in sexual activity with children in Thailand. In sentencing today, District Court Judge Julie McIntyre said McGavigan — who was a Flinders Medical Centre cardiologist and cardiology professor at Flinders University when he was arrested in December — had contributed to the abuse of "very young" children.
"The material I saw was deviant, distressing and disturbing," Judge McIntyre said.
"Many of the children involved being subjected to the vilest forms of abuse. "In many cases these children showed obvious fear and distress. Many of the children involved were very young indeed. "By accessing and possessing this material you encouraged and added to the abuse of these unfortunate children." Police found more than 4,000 files of "predominately child abuse material" with another 5,000 files which were either duplicates or police were unable to examine them.
Motivation for offences disputed
During sentencing submissions two weeks ago, McGavigan's lawyers said he had undiagnosed depression and viewed pornography to alleviate stress and boredom, while he was overworked and suffering sleep deprivation as a cardiologist at Flinders Medical Centre. But Judge McIntyre said that was no excuse.
"Your motivation for this type of offending remains unclear," she said. "You explain your behaviour as seeking sexual arousal through the taboo nature of the activities rather than by specific sexual attraction to the children. In doing this, you have created a market for the continued corruption and exploitation of children. This was not a one-off or fleeting incursion of criminality, it represented a deliberate course of offending."
Judge McIntyre said she accepted the father-of-two was remorseful for his offending and was unlikely to reoffend. She sentenced McGavigan to three years and four months in jail but gave him a lower than normal non-parole period of 12 months because of his early guilty plea, good character and remorse. Judge McIntyre said two of his colleagues had provided character references, describing him as a skilled cardiologist who helped keep the cardiology unit "together".
She said McGavigan had made a "substantial contribution to the community" as he regularly performed aid work overseas and held many international roles. "As a result of you being charged with these offences, you've lost your job, your professorial titles, fellowships of royal colleges and your position on various boards and committees," she said.
"One of the most significant penalty of this offending for you is losing your vocation, and in many respects, your identity." McGavigan has also been deregistered as a medical professional and is no longer working at Flinders University or the Flinders Medical Centre.
