ROSS ADDISON SENTENCED IN PERTH FOR ONLINE GROOMING AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

In March 2014, Ross Addison, a 27-year-old from Kinross, was sentenced to ten months in prison after he pleaded guilty to grooming a 14-year-old girl online and possessing indecent images of children. Addison had posed as a talent scout from a model agency, using Facebook and email to contact his victim, a girl from Consett, County Durham. He convinced her that she could earn up to £20,000 by sending him sexually explicit photographs.

Addison, who used the email address 'Talent Scout,' initially asked for nude pictures but soon demanded more explicit images and videos, encouraging her to perform sex acts on camera. Over a ten-month period, the girl sent him over 100 indecent photographs and ten videos, including degrading content, which he viewed on his computer at home in Kinross. Email records revealed that Addison suggested she pose in her underwear and nude and warned her that he would only pay for images that were "any good."

The grooming was uncovered when the girl’s mother discovered sexually explicit images on her daughter’s laptop. She contacted police, leading to a cross-border investigation that traced correspondence to Addison’s home. Authorities confirmed that he had promised the girl money for her images but had never paid her.

Addison claimed that boredom, alcohol, and cannabis contributed to his offending. At Perth Sheriff Court, Sheriff Fiona Tait expressed concerns over the prosecution's approach. She criticized the decision to pursue the case on a summary complaint rather than a solemn indictment, explaining it limited her sentencing options. Sheriff Tait stated, "The court has been put in a very difficult position, given that he has been prosecuted at summary level, so the court doesn’t have the extended sentencing option open to it."

She further remarked, "This was a child. She was 14 at the time. It seems to me that the gravity of the offence screams out for custody. There is the importance of a punishment element." She added that she was concerned the case had been prosecuted at a summary level but concluded that due to the seriousness of the offenses, custody was justified.

Addison admitted to requesting the girl produce sexually explicit images between December 2010 and September 2011, as well as possessing indecent photographs of children on September 16, 2011. As a result, he was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years and received a ten-month prison sentence. Because he pleaded guilty, his sentence was reduced from the maximum of twelve months, and he could potentially be released on a home curfew within about 75 days.

Initially, Addison faced six charges alleging he had posed as a talent scout for nearly six years to obtain sexual material from young females. However, the Crown accepted his pleas of not guilty to four of those charges, with the remaining charges related to the offenses discussed.