Alloa man sentenced for downloading indecent images of children

AN ALLOA man caught with child sexual abuse images has been sentenced to carry out unpaid work. Ross Cumming, 58, of Sandpiper Meadow, appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court. He admitted that between October 13, 2021 and November 6, 2023 he downloaded indecent images of children. Depute fiscal Sean Iles reported police executed a search of Cumming’s residence, seizing devices which contained 33 illegal videos. Defence solicitor Mark Harrower stated his client’s position was that he was searching for photos of people smoking, not children. He added that his client had never been in trouble before and since the police raid, his life has been turbulent. The solicitor claimed Cumming was unaware of the origins of the videos and did not recognize that viewing such images could lead to trouble. He also noted that the social work report was skeptical about Cumming’s claims that he was only looking for smoking images and emphasized he was not seeking images of minors, suggesting a fixation rooted in childhood issues. Sheriff Clair McLachlan imposed a community payback order of 135 hours of unpaid work and two years of supervision. Cumming was also placed on the sex offenders register for two years.