HELENSHURGH MAN ARTHUR WILLIAMS AVOIDS JAIL DESPITE CHILD SEXUAL IMAGE OFFENSES

In July 2014, a married man from Helensburgh, Arthur Williams, 56, who was found with extreme pornographic images and indecent pictures of children, avoided imprisonment. Williams was discovered to possess 36 indecent images of children, including some classified at the most serious level, as well as four pictures depicting a woman having sex with a dog.

Following his court appearance at Dumbarton Sheriff Court, a prominent children’s charity criticized what it described as ‘inconsistent sentencing’ in cases of sexual abuse and emphasized the need for stronger measures to combat online child sexual abuse. Bert Thomson, defending Williams, stated that his client had admitted guilt at an early stage and was not someone ‘looking to get away with anything.’ He highlighted that Williams was a first-time offender and possessed a ‘small number’ of indecent images, noting, “One of these images is too many, but we are talking about a total of 40 images all together.”

Sheriff Colin McKay explained that while there is a public perception that offenders like Williams should be sentenced to long prison terms, he was obligated to follow the sentencing guidelines established by the High Court. As part of his sentence, Williams was ordered to be supervised for two years, registered as a sex offender for the same period, and required to perform 300 hours of unpaid community work.

In response to the sentence, Mary Glasgow, Director of Children and Family Service and External Affairs at CHILDREN1ST, stated, “Viewing child sexual abuse images is not a victimless crime. Every image is evidence of abuse suffered by a real child from which they may never fully recover.” She added that such behavior creates demand that results in more children being abused, and highlighted that children who have experienced sexual abuse often feel distressed and confused by inconsistent sentencing. Glasgow emphasized the importance of the criminal justice system in addressing online abuse and called for the Scottish Government to review prosecution and sentencing policies, suggesting legislative changes if necessary to ensure sentences reflect the true severity of these crimes.