Woman, 24, faces jail as she admits child abuse downloads

A WOMAN is facing jail after being caught with "incredibly serious" images of young children being raped and abused.

Emma Griffin, 24, downloaded hundreds of pictures and movie clips, some rated at the worst level of child pornography. She was last night in custody, segregated from other female prisoners for her own safety.

Sheriff Alistair Watson said he might not view the images in case "anger or upset" affected the sentence he will impose.

Griffin admitted downloading at her home in Kilmarnock 464 indecent images of children being sexually abused.

Half of the images were stills but four video clips were at level five, which includes babies and children being sexually tortured.

Police acting on a tip-off raided Griffin's home and removed a hard drive on which the images had been stored.

Officers questioned her partner before the investigation focused on Griffin, last October.

Police also recovered photos of Griffin in public places near children, Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard.

Mr Watson said he would consider whether he should view the images before sentencing, adding: "I would prefer not to. It is better not to sentence anyone while in a position of upset or anger."

The sheriff said the offence was "incredibly serious" because of the number of images and the damage done to the children.

He added: "Those who participate in downloading, viewing and paying for such images simply fuel the industry that causes children to be abused."

Griffin was placed on the sex offenders register and will be sentenced at a later date.