A federal judge in Los Angeles Friday rejected a plea deal for a former pediatrician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center who admitted possessing child pornography.
Gary Goulin, 62, of Los Angeles, was scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, who exercised her discretion to reject the plea agreement calling for a sentence of four to five years' imprisonment, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
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Goulin pleaded guilty in April to one count of possession of child pornography, admitting to possessing on his devices more than 600 images constituting child pornography, some involving minors younger than age 12, court papers show.
He now has the option of negotiating a different plea agreement or withdrawing his guilty plea, potentially exposing him to additional criminal charges.
Goulin's attorney, Mark Werksman, said after court Friday that he and his client would consider their options.
Although the charge could carry up to 20 years in prison, federal prosecutors and Goulin agreed to the lower prison term, along with a 15-year period of supervised release with conditions to be fixed by the court, and various fines and special assessments, according to court documents. Sentencing is ultimately up to the judge, who may accept or deny any deal.
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, 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."
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