Sentencing is set Friday for a former pediatrician who was fired by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for possessing child pornography.
Gary Goulin, 62, of Los Angeles, admitted possessing on his devices more than 600 images constituting child pornography, some involving minors younger than age 12, according to his plea agreement.
“During the time period when defendant received and possessed child pornography images and videos, defendant was a pediatrician,” according to the plea agreement, filed in Los Angeles federal court.
As part of his guilty plea in April to one count of possession of child pornography, Goulin agreed to register as a sex offender.
Although the charge could carry up to 20 years in prison, federal prosecutors and Goulin have agreed upon a sentence of 48 to 60 months’ imprisonment, a 15-year period of supervised release with conditions to be fixed by the court, and various fines and special assessments, according to the plea agreement. The sentence is ultimately up to the judge.
After his November 2021 arrest, Goulin was charged in Los Angeles Superior Court with possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child. That case was dismissed when Goulin was indicted by a federal grand jury last year.
In November 2021, the Medical Board of California prohibited Goulin from practicing medicine.
After Goulin’s arrest, his attorney, Mark Werksman, told City News Service the defendant “spent a lifetime providing quality care to his patients and dedicating himself to his practice. These charges have nothing to do with his patients or his medical practice or the hospital where he worked. We’re going to deal with the case in court.”
In a statement after the arrest, Cedars-Sinai announced that it “took immediate action and terminated Dr. Goulin’s employment and his employee access to Cedars-Sinai facilities” after being notified of his arrest and the charges against him.
“Cedars-Sinai remains committed to ensuring the integrity of our employees and the organization.”