A serial sex offender was back behind bars last night after he downloaded dozens of child porn images – as a practical joke.
Ian McDougall, a prisoner at HMP Grampian, was handed a 28 month extended sentence and placed on the sex offenders’ register for the next decade after previously admitting the offences, which took place between January 27 and 31.
The court heard since he was released from his last 14-month prison sentence – also for being in possession of child porn – police officers had been keeping an eye on McDougall’s home life.
Fiscal depute Anne Macdonald previously told the court that a neighbour of McDougall’s saw a USB memory stick lying on the ground outside his house.
The neighbour took the device to a chemist, where he accessed the pictures.
He then phoned the police and confronted McDougall outside his home.
The court heard when he was approached McDougall admitted the stick belonged to him but said it was a practical joke he was going to play on his supervising officer.
He said he had prepared a “package” for him in a brown envelope which contained a pair of children’s underwear, a St Trinian’s DVD and the memory stick full of photos.
The court heard it was intended to show that McDougall did not need the internet to be blocked from his home as this would not stop him accessing the indecent pictures if he really wanted to.
Sentencing the 56-year-old Sheriff Graeme told him he was a “danger to young girls”.
McDougall will have to spend the next 16 months in prison before he is released on licence for the last year of his extended sentence.