A ‘vile’ pervert made jokes about kidnapping children on an online group where he shared child sexual abuse images, a court has heard.
Spanish national Rafael Cobacho, 29, also said he “preferred defenceless babies” as he spoke to fellow paedophiles on an encrypted online chat forum.
He has now appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted possessing more than 1,000 indecent images and videos of children.
Some of the pictures and videos found on Cobacho’s computer were of kids as young as one month old and some featured “sadistic sexual activity”.
Cobacho, a hygiene inspector, was told that his crimes were “a deplorable catalogue of vile offending”.
He pleaded guilty to three charges of making or taking indecent photographs, being in possession of hundreds of images and videos and of distributing photographs of children between October 28 2019 and February 4 2020.
Fiscal depute Brian Young told the court that police sought a search warrant for Cobacho’s Aberdeen home after receiving intelligence from the National Online Child Abuse Prevention group.
A search of the 29-year-old’s home uncovered a number of electronic devices, including laptops, a mobile phone and storage devices.
In total, 1,036 images and 35 videos were found – with nearly 350 of those being in the highest category for this type of material.
Mr Young told the court that the photographs were of girls and boys aged between one month and 14-years-old.
A number of the videos also contained “sadistic” child abuse.
The fiscal depute also said that police found chat logs from the site Telegram on Cobacho’s mobile telephone where he shared child sex material and joked: “Kidnapping a child doesn’t seem a bad idea now”.
He was also stated how he liked “defenceless babies” and preferred children “the younger the better”.
‘Those who view these images perpetuate the vile trade’
Defence agent Paul Barnett told the court that he accepted that Cobacho had shared a number of videos but that it took place over a “short space of time”.
He added: “He has expressed disgust at his actions and he has done everything to try and get away from this behaviour.
“He accepts full responsibility and he has shown insight into his offences.”
Sheriff William Summers told the 29-year-old that he was facing “serious charges”.
He added: “They involve the making of, possession of and, in your case, the distribution of indecent images of children.
“This is a deplorable catalogue of vile offending and these are not victimless crimes.
“Every child who appears in any of the images is likely to have been the victim of abuse and in some cases the most serious abuse.
“Those who view these images perpetuate the vile trade and the manufacture and distribution of these images.”
As an alternative to prison, Sheriff Summers sentenced Cobacho, of Market Street, Aberdeen, to a community payback order with three years of supervision.
He also made him subject to an eight months restriction of liberty order and ordered him to take part in the Moving Forward: Making Changes programme.
Sheriff Summers also placed Cobacho on the sex offenders register for five years.
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