A pervert medic who paid a mysterious woman for children to perform sexual acts for him online has been jailed for three years and four months.
Kieran Titheridge, 34, who worked at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, made four payments over a two month period to a woman living abroad who has never been caught by police.
The despicable doctor then had the choice to select from a range of girls – ranging in age from three to 14 – who would strip for him over Skype.
When detectives finally rumbled Titheridge, they raided his homes in Aberdeen and Arbroath and found he had been keeping child porn images on his computer.
On Wednesday, at the High Court in Edinburgh, Titheridge was jailed after his lawyer David Moggach told the court that his client’s career was ruined.
Passing sentence, judge Lord Kinclaven, also ordered the sex offender to be supervised by the authorities for two years following his release from custody.
Saying that he had read a number of positive character references, the judge added: “You are clearly an intelligent man. You have qualified as a medical doctor. “It is clear that you have a number of friends and family who are supportive of you.
“The sentence that I am about to impose upon you will have a devastating impact on them.
“I must impose a custodial sentence on you. There is simply no other way of dealing with you.”
The story emerged following a hearing at the High Court in Aberdeen last month in which Titheridge admitted to two offences.
He pleaded guilty to possessing indecent photos and videos of children on various occasions between June 2008 and November 2013.
Titheridge, of South Street, Arbroath, also pleaded guilty to intentionally obtaining the sexual services of a child or children under the age of 18 himself on various occasions between October 2012 and November 2013.
Sentence had been deferred until Wednesday so the court could obtain a report on Titheridge’s character. At the earlier proceedings, the court heard how horrified detectives had been unable to establish identities of the woman he paid and the children who he abused.
The court heard how Titheridge was rumbled after detectives were told that the medic had sent money via PayPal to an email account between October 14 2012 and December 26 2012.
The court heard that officers reckon the email address was linked to the woman who arranged for the abuse to take place. Officers raided his home in Aberdeen as well has his family home in Arbroath.
Laptops seized from both addresses contained a total of 366 vile photographs of children and two horrifying videos.
Text messages sent through Skype revealed that Titheridge had engaged in several conversations with a foreign woman. Titheridge, who worked at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, had asked her if she had naked young girls and requested their age.
She then asked him if he wanted to “play” and initially informed him that he would have to pay her 30 dollars for the service. Confirming through Skype that he had sent payment, he requested to see a girls bottom before the conversation ended.
He sent a further three individual £10 payments for sexual services involving children to the woman on different dates. The woman informed Titheridge on a later date that the children were sleeping so they could not provide the service.
The court heard that he got in touch with them on November 20 asking: “Are the young girls awake?” The doctor’s bank accounts confirmed that payments had been made to the woman.
Prosecution lawyer Sheena Fraser told the court: “The precise ages of the children can’t be determined but it is acknowledged that the panel claims that the youngest child he saw would be 14 years old.”
On Wednesday, defence advocate David Moggach told the court that his client was sorry for his actions. Mr Moggach added that his client was initially interested in adult pornography but later became interested in illegal porn.
The defence counsel added: “He started looking at adult pornography but there was a curiosity and the lines became somewhat blurred – he then got involved with child pornography.
“He is a very intelligent man and he expresses remorse for what he has done. He has expressed empathy with his victims.
“He has spent a lifetime applying himself and he has now thrown that way. His life and his career now lie in ruins.”
However, Lord Kinclaven ordered Titheridge to be taken into custody. He gave the sex offender nine months for possessing the indecent images and three years four months for using Skype to pay for sexual services involving the underage girls.
Lord Kinclaven ordered the sentences to run concurrently. He also placed Titheridge on the Sex Offenders Register.