September 2014 Man Who Claimed Secret Lover Downloaded Indecent Images Faces Jail A Kilbirnie man who was caught with hundreds of images of children being sexually abused is facing a prison sentence. Ronald Sproul, 62, claimed the pictures were downloaded by a gay lover he started an affair with and met while walking his dog late at night. He said the mystery man, called Ronnie had a key to his home and used his computer in the early hours while his unsuspecting male partner slept upstairs. But Sproul, a chargehand joiner, could not explain why he did not know the man’s full name, where he lived and why he didn’t tell the police after being arrested. A jury found him guilty of two charges of downloading and possessing more than 300 indecent images between September 2009 and October 2012. Sentence at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court was deferred until next month and Sproul was freed on bail.