Police tell court of finding chilling child porn images

Published on Friday 13 March 2009 20:52

POLICE recovered a particularly harrowing image of child pornography after taking months to crack a password, a court heard yesterday.

The computer was seized in the Dundee home of Craig Boath, 24. The investigation began in 2007 when indecent images of children were found on a computer which had been sent for repair. Neil Strachan, 41, of Edinburgh, was identified as a suspect and inquiries led to seven others, including Boath.

Detective Inspector David Reid, 50, head of the Lothian and Borders Police forensic computer unit, told the High Court in Edinburgh that among the 30,000 images and movie clips there was a file which required a password, and it took the police months to gain access. DI Reid said a video clip in the file involved a girl aged four to six, clearly in extreme distress.

Strachan and Boath are accused with six others of possessing and distributing indecent images of children. The others are: James Rennie, 38 and Colin Slaven, 23, both of Edinburgh; Neil Campbell, 46, John Milligan, 40, and John Murphy, 44, all of Glasgow; and Ross Webber, 27, of North Berwick. Strachan, Rennie and Slaven are also charged with committing sexual offences with children.

The trial continues.