📰 What Happened
Court documents show a podcast by The Australian delayed the sex offence trial of William ‘Rob’ Gilfillan by 10 months. Gilfillan is a former PE teacher already serving a 48-year jail term for abusing his daughter. He was due to face trial in Victoria in February last year over five counts involving two schoolgirls in Gippsland in the 1980s. The Shadow of Doubt podcast, launched in March 2023, claimed his 2016 conviction may have been a ‘grave miscarriage of justice’.
🔍 The Backstory
Gilfillan and his ex-wife Karen, who was also jailed for sexual abuse, spoke to the podcast. Because of the presumption of innocence, the jury could not be told about his New South Wales convictions. His barrister told the judge his client’s history was easy to find online. The case has raised questions about how podcasts cover live criminal matters.
🎯 Why It Matters
It shows how popular true-crime podcasts can affect real trials and victims, and why courts worry about media coverage swaying justice.

Court documents show a podcast by The Australian delayed the sex offence trial of William ‘Rob’ Gilfillan by 10 months. Gilfillan is a former PE teacher already serving a 48-year jail term for abusing his daughter. He was due to face trial in Victoria in February last year over five counts involving two schoolgirls in Gippsland in the 1980s. The Shadow of Doubt podcast, launched in March 2023, claimed his 2016 conviction may have been a ‘grave miscarriage of justice’.

Gilfillan and his ex-wife Karen, who was also jailed for sexual abuse, spoke to the podcast. Because of the presumption of innocence, the jury could not be told about his New South Wales convictions. His barrister told the judge his client’s history was easy to find online. The case has raised questions about how podcasts cover live criminal matters.

It shows how popular true-crime podcasts can affect real trials and victims, and why courts worry about media coverage swaying justice.

📰 Source: News Source
theguardian.com ↗
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