WA GP Douglas William McCarthy guilty of child sex offences
WARNING: This article contains details some readers may find distressing.
Douglas William McCarthy, 63, was a practising GP in the state's south west, when he engaged in sexual acts with girls aged 14 and 15.
A Perth District Court jury, which had been forced to watch hours of what prosecutor Sean Stocks described as "graphic and disturbing" footage, today found McCarthy guilty of a range of charges, including persistent sexual conduct and sexual penetration, possessing child pornography, and encouraging a 17-year-old to engage in prostitution.
He was also found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The jury deliberated for more than six hours.
McCarthy showed no emotion as the jury foreman delivered guilty verdicts on 14 charges, but when he was finished, he sat with his face in his hands.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for next week.
Mr Stocks told the jury McCarthy had a sexual interest in underage girls and acted on that interest.
"They were children," he said, even if they "occasionally" acted as if they were adults, and had been "groomed by an older and apparently more sophisticated" person.
Mr Stocks said McCarthy had a "curated video library" of his offences and paid two girls to "keep quiet" about having sex with them when they were 15.
Part-way through the trial, McCarthy had pleaded guilty to charges of sexual penetration regarding two girls aged under 16, but had continued to deny "persistent" sexual conduct in relation to them.
He had also denied having sexual relations with any other girls aged under 16.
McCarthy admitted receiving pictures and videos, and paying for sexual acts, but claimed he believed the girls were older than 16.
When he was told one of the girls wasn't really 16, he said he was "extremely mad" because he thought he could lose his medical registration and go to jail.
He told the court he was "devastated" to then find out another of the girls was younger than 16.
Mr Stocks described McCarthy's evidence as "nonsense".
He said the accounts of the victims were consistent and "inherently plausible", making McCarthy a "child sex offender".
One victim described how she went with a friend to see McCarthy and they smoked marijuana before engaging in sex acts with him.
Later, he told her he had contracted chlamydia and gave her a prescription for treating it.
Another victim said she was 15 when she went to see him in his home, and was sexually assaulted by McCarthy as she lay on her belly on a massage table.
She said he later sent her a message offering to pay her $300 a week.
When police started investigating, she messaged McCarthy "I'm getting a lot of pressure from my family and the police" and said she might need money for a lawyer.
McCarthy told her not to "flash your wealth around" and put more than $500 into her account.
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