December 2009 Lindsayfield paedophile Scott Ferguson avoids jail A FORMER company director who admitted having indecent images of children on his computer has avoided jail. Paedophile Scott Ferguson, of Durban Avenue, Lindsayfield, appeared for sentence at Lanark Sheriff Court on Friday. The 36-year-old was snared after an investigation led officers to his parents’ home in Kirkmuirhill, near Lanark, where he had used a computer to obtain sick images. He was once a director with his family’s civil engineering business, J&J Ferguson, based in Kirkmuirhill. However, he was booted out of the company when the charges came to light earlier this year. At an earlier court hearing, Ferguson admitted taking or permitting to be taken, or making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children between October 26, 2006, and September 5, 2007, both dates inclusive, at 31 to 33 Strathaven Road, Kirkmuirhill, and 27 Durban Avenue, East Kilbride. When Ferguson appeared before Sheriff Nicola Stewart in November, his sentence was deferred for six weeks to allow time for the preparation of a psychological report and risk assessment. When Ferguson returned to court on Friday he was given three years probation and placed on the sex offenders’ register for three years. He was also issued with a restriction of liberty order for a period of four months and ordered to perform 200 hours’ community service. Last month the police service in Scotland responded to the growing threat to child safety represented by the on-line abuse of children and the distribution of indecent images of children. Operation Alba is a Scotland-wide operation involving the eight Scottish police forces, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), the Crown Office and the Child Exploitation and On-line Protection Centre (CEOP). Assistant Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, who holds the Child Protection portfolio for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) said: “We are turning a corner in dealing with this kind of crime in Scotland and we will be pro-active in our approach. “Those who attack and abuse our children think they can disguise their tracks. “We will use the very technology they exploit to catch them. “We are making clear through Operation Alba that there is no hiding place, every contact via the internet leaves a trail which we will follow. “We will investigate, enforce the law and rescue children from harm. It is a priority for the police service in Scotland to protect our children.”