An oil worker caught with a cache of indecent videos and images has been spared jail.
Simon Warren was caught 337 category A videos – the most serious – and 126 images on his computer after police raided an address in Aberdeen.
The 45-year-old appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday for sentencing after previously admitting that he had downloaded the material, which involved children aged between one and 14, on February 15, 2017 and November 13, 2018.
The court heard Warren, of George Street, Aberdeen, had viewed the material after issues in his family life arose and that he had taken cocaine at the time.
Defence solicitor Gregor Kelly said his client had been molested as a teenager, but accepted that did not give him “Carte blanche” to offend.
He added that Warren has since paid for 25 therapy sessions to stop his sexual interest in young children.
Mr Kelly added: “He no longer has any interest in teenage girls and doesn’t think about underage children.”
He said his client has lost his job as an operations manager within the oil and gas industry as a result of the offences.
Sheriff Graeme Napier said: “If it wasn’t for people like you downloading these images there would be no market for people to make money out of the exploitation of children.
“There are mitigatory circumstances and you have taken steps to right this yourself and you are clearly well thought of in your industry.”
He put Warren on a three-year supervision order and told him to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work. He also placed him on the sex offenders register for three years and ordered him to participate in the Moving Forward Making Changes programme.
