A 48-year-old Inverness man was jailed for 18 months yesterday after being convicted of downloading, possessing and distributing pornographic images of children.
Christopher Coleman, recently of Falcon Court, Edinburgh, was found guilty of the three charges at a trial at Inverness Sheriff Court last month.
The offences took place at Rowan Court between December 2012 and May 2013.
Sentence had been deferred for a background report, which his defence advocate George Gebbie said was “a positive one.”
He asked the court to impose a non-custodial sentence because there were only a small number of the images which were of the highest obscene category and just one had been passed on.
Mr Gebbie also said Coleman was assessed at low risk of re-offending.
But Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood said he had thought long and hard about sentencing and decided that there was no alternative but to impose a custodial sentence.
“He has not accepted his guilt or taken steps to deal with his problem which would have been mitigatory factors.” the sheriff added.
Coleman, who was still protesting his innocence to social workers and the court despite the verdict, was also placed on the sex offender’s register.
Police Scotland acknowledged the conviction and sentencing of Coleman.
Detective Sergeant Joanna Macleod of the Highlands and Islands Public Protection Unit said: “This was an extremely complex and protracted investigation which initially came to light almost five years ago.
“Possessing indecent images is not a victimless crime. Every day children are subjected to dreadful abuse in order to create these materials which are distributed around the world.
“Police Scotland is committed to taking action against the people involved in this appalling cycle of crime and we would encourage anybody who has experienced abuse, no matter how much time has passed, to contact us or partner agencies such as their local social work team or the NSPCC.”
