WILLIAM FRANKS: ABERDEEN PAEDOPHILE SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS FOR CHILD IMAGE OFFENCES
In August 2016, William Franks, a 51-year-old man from Aberdeen with a troubling history of similar offences, was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison after being convicted of possessing and distributing indecent images of children.The court also mandated that Franks be placed on the sex offenders’ register for life, and upon his release, he will be subject to two years of supervised probation.
Details of the case revealed that Franks had downloaded a significant collection of illicit material, including 912 images and 35 videos depicting child exploitation.
The offences occurred between May 1 and July 6, 2015.
Franks, who is currently under the requirements of the Sex Offenders Act, admitted to taking or permitting the taking of indecent photographs or pseudo-photos of children, as well as making such images.
During the court proceedings, it was disclosed that Franks believed he was “born with a condition,” which he claimed contributed to his offending behavior.
His previous appearances at Aberdeen Sheriff Court included admissions related to similar crimes, and he had been convicted before in 2005.
His latest conviction was marked by the discovery of a substantial cache of illicit material on electronic devices seized from his residence at 21 Pentland Road, Aberdeen.
The police confiscated three electronic devices from Franks’s home, and forensic analysis uncovered a disturbing collection of images and videos.
The digital evidence included 903 indecent images of children, with 103 classified as level A—the most severe category—alongside 163 images at level B and 637 at level C.
Additionally, investigators found 35 videos of child abuse, with 22 rated as level A, three as level B, and four as level C.
The total duration of these videos was nearly eight hours, specifically seven hours, 57 minutes, and 26 seconds.
Prosecutor Anne MacDonald explained that the images and videos were downloaded onto two of Franks’s devices from the internet, constituting the making of illicit material.
A tablet computer was also seized, which, although free of indecent images, contained internet search history related to child sexual abuse.
This evidence further implicated Franks in the ongoing criminal activity.
During the hearing, Franks’s legal representative, solicitor Graeme Murray, requested a deferment of sentencing to allow for background reports to be prepared.
He explained that he was filling in for Franks’s regular solicitor, who would be better suited to present mitigation.
However, Sheriff William Summers, citing Franks’s extensive criminal record, indicated that a custodial sentence was inevitable.
The court agreed to postpone the sentencing until August to allow Franks’s usual legal team to be present for the proceedings.
