DUNDDEE KARATE INSTRUCTOR DAVID MCAUSLAND SENTENCED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL OFFENCES
In August 2014, a Dundee-based karate instructor named David McAusland was sentenced to two years and four months in prison after being found with a significant collection of indecent images of children and bestiality material.The court heard that McAusland, who also taught kickboxing until his arrest, had stored thousands of illicit images and videos, including some depicting the most severe forms of abuse, and was involved in sharing these materials with others via special file-sharing software.
The police executed a raid on his home in September the previous year, uncovering a total of 2,736 images and 39 videos across his computer, tablet, and USB sticks.
Among these were pictures of children as young as six being abused, along with content involving sadism and bestiality.
Investigators also discovered seven videos, one of which, downloaded just days before the raid, showed women engaging in sexual acts with dogs.
McAusland admitted to the charges in July and was released on bail under the condition that he not access the internet without permission.
During the police search, he initially claimed he owned only one mobile phone; however, a subsequent check revealed he had clandestinely been using a second device with internet access, which he had used to browse a swingers website.
Prosecutor Douglas Wiseman stated, "When he was interviewed by police, he initially admitted owning the computer equipment but denied accessing any pornographic sites.
He later admitted downloading the images and confirmed he was aware of the Copine scale used to measure the severity of images.
He also confirmed that he had access to children at the karate and kickboxing clubs he was involved with and that he had taught children from age five upwards." The 50-year-old, of South Road, Dundee, pleaded guilty to charges of downloading, possessing, and distributing child pornography between May 8, 2011, and September 17, 2013.
He also admitted possessing extreme pornography from July 29 to September 15, 2013.
Defence lawyer Kevin Hampton argued that McAusland claimed there was no sexual motivation behind his collecting behavior, suggesting it was an obsession that later escalated to sexual gratification, although he emphasized there was no misconduct reported at his karate classes.
Sheriff Elizabeth Munro sentenced McAusland to two years and four months in prison, with an additional four-year supervision period upon release, and ordered him to be placed on the sex offenders register for ten years.
The sheriff remarked, "It's very distressing for all involved.
You are obviously a decent man in many ways, but this is so serious that there has to be a custodial sentence." Additionally, in August 2014, it was reported that McAusland, who had previously been banned from unsupervised internet use due to his crimes, admitted to breaching this restriction by accessing prohibited websites from his mobile phone at home.
He appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court and admitted to using the internet illegally, despite restrictions.
Defense solicitor Kevin Hampton stated, "His client had only been looking at legal sites, but he shouldn't have been doing that at all.
His remark to the police was: 'I'm sorry, I was stupid,' and I can only agree with that." McAusland was released on bail following a prior court appearance where he also admitted possessing the extensive collection of images and videos.
His bail was contingent upon complying with strict conditions, but he breached these by using his mobile phone to access the internet on August 21.
Sheriff Lorna Drummond ordered the case to be deferred until August 29, when sentencing for the breach and the original charges would be handed down.
Earlier, in July 2014, McAusland faced charges for possessing thousands of child abuse and bestiality images, as well as sharing them over the internet more than 100 times.
During police raids on his South Road flat, investigators uncovered multiple devices and a preview revealed 252 indecent images of children aged between six and fourteen.
Prosecutor Wiseman indicated McAusland initially denied any involvement with the material but later confessed to downloading the images and confirmed sole access to the equipment.
He pleaded guilty to downloading, possessing, and distributing child abuse images from May 2011 to September 2013, and possessing extreme pornography in July and August 2013.
Sheriff Elizabeth Munro ordered that his sentencing be deferred until August 29 for further reports, with a warning that a custodial sentence was a real possibility.
