A former oil worker who downloaded more than 10,000 indecent images of children has been jailed for nine months.
Christopher Grant also gathered more than 60 hours of footage which showed youngsters being abused – because he suffered from “social isolation” and “sexual frustration”.
Grant, who until recently worked as a materials controller for an Aberdeen firm, appeared at the city’s sheriff court yesterday, after he admitted the charges at an earlier hearing.
The 31-year-old committed the offences over a period of seven weeks, between September 11 and October 29, 2013.
Fiscal depute Elaine Ward told the court police carried out a search warrant at 39 Braeside Terrace in Aberdeen – the home Grant shared with his parent – on October 30, 2013.
Officers seized a Dell laptop and hard drive from the house and Grant agreed to go to Queen Street police station, where he admitted downloading the illegal material.
Police later found 10,566 indecent images as well as 421 videos, running to 63 hours and 46 minutes, stored on the laptop’s hard drive.
Mrs Ward told the court most of the images were at level one – the lowest end of the scale.
However, 75 were classed as level five -the most serious grade – while 2,095 were level four and 2,138 level three.
Solicitor Shane Campbell said Grant – who had no previous convictions for similar offences – had downloaded the files because of feelings of “social isolation” and “sexual frustration”.
And he told the court his client had quit his job because he could not cope with the “stress” of the prosecution “hanging over his head”.
Mr Campbell stressed that Grant had insisted the images and videos were for “his own consumption” and had not shared any of them.
He also pointed out that Grant had not known the specific content of the files before he downloaded them – although he conceded that he was fully aware they would be illicit images.
Mr Grant said his client understood there was a high probability he would be given a custodial sentence – but appealed to the court to take into account the fact he had cooperated with the police throughout.
He added that Grant now had a “deep shame, that he feels not only for himself but more pertinently for his family.”
Mr Campbell said: “Clearly his involvement has turned not only his life on its head, but also the lives of those closest to him.
“It’s a matter he and his family will have to live with for a very long time.”
Jailing Grant for nine months, Sheriff Graham Buchanan said: “This is a very serious case.
“Given the number of images, a custodial sentence is appropriate.”
Grant was also placed on the sex offender’s register for 10 years.