SCOTT SIMPSON FROM LORDBURN ARRESTED WITH OVER 7,000 CHILD INDECENT IMAGES IN ARBROATH

In a case that has shocked the local community of Arbroath, Scott Simpson, a 32-year-old resident of Lordburn, was found to be in possession of an alarming number of indecent images of children. The authorities uncovered more than 7,000 such images during a police investigation, leading to serious legal consequences for Simpson.

Simpson appeared before Sheriff Kevin Veal at Arbroath, where he was formally charged and subsequently admitted to possessing these illicit images. The court proceedings revealed that the images and videos were stored on Simpson’s personal computer equipment, which included a hard drive and four memory sticks. As part of the legal process, these items were confiscated, and a condition of Simpson’s bail was that he was prohibited from accessing the internet.

The investigation traced the origin of the images to a period between October 15, 2010, and December 19, 2011. During this time, Simpson’s flatmate, who used Simpson’s computer primarily for listening to music, became suspicious after noticing a folder named 'New Star Erin' and 'New Star Cherry.' Curious, the flatmate opened the folder and was immediately confronted with a disturbing collection of photographs depicting young girls aged between five and twelve. The images showed the girls dressed in clothing, with no evidence of sexual touching or activity, but they were considered suggestive and provocative in nature.

Disturbed by what he saw, the flatmate quickly contacted a mutual friend of both men. The flatmate then showed this friend the contents of the folder, which prompted the two to report the matter to the police. Acting swiftly, authorities obtained a search warrant for Simpson’s residence and seized various electronic devices, including the aforementioned hard drive and memory sticks.

The forensic analysis of these devices revealed a staggering collection of illicit material. The police found a total of 7,187 images and 49 videos classified as level one, which indicates the least severe category of indecency. The videos had a combined running time of nearly four hours, specifically three hours and 51 minutes. Additionally, there were six images categorized at level two, depicting sexual activities, and some deleted images, including one classified at level four, indicating a higher level of severity.

During the court hearing, Simpson’s defense attorney, Billy Rennie, argued that the majority of the images fell into the lowest category of severity, level one. He emphasized that the images were for Simpson’s personal use and there was no evidence to suggest that he shared or distributed the material. Despite this, the court took a serious view of the case, and Sheriff Kevin Veal sentenced Simpson to three years of probation. Furthermore, Simpson was placed on the sex offenders register for the same period, and his electronic devices were forfeited to prevent further access to such material.

This case underscores the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to combat the possession and distribution of child exploitation images, and it serves as a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance and swift action in protecting vulnerable children from exploitation.