Dad jailed for 13,000 child porn pictures on computer

A FATHER caught with more than 13,000 images of child pornography on his computer has been jailed.

Police staged a dawn raid at the home of divorced dad-of-two Graham Downie on May 12 this year after a tip-off.

They found 13,771 indecent images and 58 pornographic movies of children aged between just three months and 13 years old.

More than 2500 images and 31 movies were at level four and five - the most offensive category.

The 42-year-old from Linlithgow, West Lothian, told officers his daughters shared the same computer when they stayed at weekends but had their own password-protected areas.

But when he appeared for sentence at Livingston Sheriff Court yesterday, his lawyer revealed that his daughters wanted nothing more to do with him.

Downie's ex-wife, who was brought into the courtroom to see sentence being passed, broke down in tears as the father of her children was led away to start an extended sentence.

Downie will serve eight months in prison and a further 16 months on licence. His name was added to the Sex Offenders' Register and he will be subject to notification requirements for a further ten years after his release.

He told police he downloaded the pictures because it was "taboo" and he got "a thrill from finding and downloading the images". He admitted he had viewed the abuse of children of all ages.

Darryl Lovie, defending, described Downie as a lonely and troubled man.

He said: "He appears to be a very socially-isolated person, a man who has difficulty establishing and maintaining friendships in the community - a situation not uncommon for an accused person facing charges such as these."

Mr Lovie said his client had sought psychiatric help.

He added: "There's no doubt that his behaviour in committing this offence has devastated the only real valuable relationship in his life.

"His children are finding it very, very difficult to come to terms with the situation and want nothing further to do with their father."

Passing sentence, Sheriff Martin Edington said the high number of images involved meant there was no possible alternative to prison.

He added: "You've shown remorse and indeed disgust, and a willingness to tackle your problem, but the public need to be protected against sexual offenders."