Key facts
- The Australian's podcast "Shadow of Doubt" caused a 10-month delay in the sex offense trial of William "Rob" Gilfillan.
- Gilfillan was already serving a 48-year sentence for child abuse in New South Wales.
- The podcast questioned the validity of Gilfillan's prior conviction, suggesting a "grave miscarriage of justice."
- The defense argued the podcast fueled online speculation, creating "immediate and obvious" prejudice.
- A judge delayed jury selection until December 1, 2025, due to "irredeemable prejudice."
- Gilfillan was later found guilty of sexual crimes and received an additional seven-and-a-half-year sentence.
The Australian's podcast "Shadow of Doubt" is linked to a 10-month delay in the sex offense trial of William "Rob" Gilfillan, a former physical education teacher already serving a 48-year jail term for abusing his daughter. Court documents revealed that the podcast, which questioned the validity of Gilfillan's prior conviction, created significant prejudice that jeopardized the fairness of his upcoming trial on charges related to two schoolgirls in the 1980s.
Gilfillan and his ex-wife Karen, who was also jailed for sexual abuse, maintained their innocence in interviews with The Australian, with the newspaper publishing an editorial in 2023 stating the victim's story was "manifestly implausible."
Despite suppression orders, details in the podcast and other reporting allowed individuals to identify Gilfillan. On the eve of the jury empanelment last year, Gilfillan's defense barrister, Paul Kounnas, argued that the podcast, which was easily discoverable online, had fueled "feverish speculation" on internet forums and created "immediate and obvious" prejudice. The prosecutor, Sandra MacDougall, agreed that the publicity had "created an irredeemable prejudice to the conduct of this trial."
Justice Michael O’Connell denied a request for a permanent stay but ordered the Director of Public Prosecutions to address the prejudicial material online. He delayed jury selection until December 1, 2025, expressing concern that the problem had not been resolved. When the trial proceeded in December, Gilfillan was found guilty of "brazen and forcible" sexual crimes and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail, to be served concurrently with his existing sentence. Corrective Services NSW is investigating how the jail interviews were conducted.