CHRISTOPHER RODGERS FROM ABRONHILL AND CUMBERNAULD ESCAPES JAIL FOR CHILD SEXUAL IMAGE OFFENCES

In a case that has drawn significant attention in the local community, Christopher Rodgers, a 42-year-old resident of Laburnum Road in Abronhill, narrowly avoided a custodial sentence after being convicted of serious offences related to indecent images of children. The conviction was handed down last month at Airdrie Sheriff Court, where a jury found Rodgers guilty by a majority verdict, despite his vehement denial of the charges.

According to court proceedings, Rodgers was involved in the creation and possession of indecent photographs of young children over a period exceeding two years. The timeline of these offences stretches from August 2012 to December 11, 2014. The court heard that Rodgers either took or allowed others to take such images, which is a grave violation of child protection laws. Additionally, authorities discovered that Rodgers possessed child abuse images stored on his computer, further compounding the severity of his offences.

The incidents took place while Rodgers was residing in Cumbernauld, a fact that was confirmed during the investigation. Police Scotland’s Cybercrime Unit, based in Glasgow, conducted a thorough analysis of Rodgers’ electronic devices, including his laptop and DVD player, which were seized during a police raid. The examination revealed the presence of illicit images, and the court was shown evidence from the forensic analysis, including interviews with a scene examiner and a team of detectives involved in the investigation.

Rodgers attempted to justify the presence of the images by claiming that nearly 300 of them had been uploaded to his computer by an unidentified individual during a social gathering or party. However, this explanation was not sufficient to sway the court, which found him guilty based on the evidence presented.

In delivering her judgment, Sheriff Morag Galbraith emphasized that Rodgers had narrowly avoided a prison sentence. Instead, she imposed a Community Payback Order, which includes three years of supervised probation. As part of this order, Rodgers is required to complete 200 hours of unpaid community service. Furthermore, he has been mandated to attend alcohol counselling sessions and is prohibited from using the internet unsupervised. He is also barred from making contact with anyone under the age of 17.

Additional conditions of his sentence include a strict requirement that Rodgers must not delete or tamper with his internet browsing history. He has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for a period of three years, ensuring ongoing monitoring of his activities related to the offences committed.