A Moray man who sent indecent images of children to his colleague has been ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
Philip Ferguson was reported to police after sending the sick material to a horrified colleague in a WhatsApp message.
One message contained a category A video, deemed the most severe when grading indecent images.
It contained a 29-second film of two young boys, estimated to be under the age of eight, carrying out indecent acts on a donkey.
A second video, which contained footage of children in a classroom and was classed as Category B, was also recovered.
Ferguson, 63, previously admitted being in possession of the indecent images and distributing them at an address on Rousay Terrace in Aberdeen.
The offences happened between December 1, 2017 and March 17, 2018.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that when a colleague received the message from Ferguson, on December 1, they were shocked and told him he “needed help”.
The court heard Ferguson, of Kirkton Place, Elgin, replied: “Haha – have you just found that out, lol.”
His colleague continued to feel “uncomfortable” and eventually went to the police on March 17 last year.
Defence agent Laura Gracie yesterday urged the court to be lenient due to Ferguson’s “low level risk” of re-offending and the “limited number of images” involved.
Sheriff Ian Wallace ordered the first offender to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work within five months and put him under supervision for eight months.
Ferguson must also comply with the terms of the sex offenders register.
