A pensioner who claimed he was searching for Madeleine McCann when he was caught with hundreds of child porn images has been spared a jail sentence.
David Brinkman trawled through nearly 700 indecent pictures and more than 80 videos in his “hunt” the missing toddler.
When he was caught by the police he told them he was doing it as part of a “one-man crusade” to find the paedophile ring he believed had abducted the youngster from a hotel in Portugal in 2007.
The qualified engineer said he scoured the illicit material to try to spot the young girl’s distinctive eye defect, and even bartered with other paedophiles online in exchange for more material.
Sheriff Graeme Napier said that following a serious of reports which had been carried out into his background and mental state he was confident that the 68-year-old did not pose an immediate threat to children.
The report stated Brinkman was not a “sexual deviant” but said he showed some “cognitive impairment”.
The psychologist who assessed him added that no “special” risk to children had been identified, but he may need further assessment in the future.
Sheriff Napier said: “This is one of the more unusual cases of this type that I’ve had to deal with.
“This is a serious offence which could have justified a custodial sentence.
“But from the reports available it appears that you do not pose a significant risk to children.”
Brinkman was given a community payback order placing him under supervision for three years and will have to take part in a programme aimed at rehabilitating sex offenders.
He was also placed on the sex offenders register for the duration of the order.
Brinkman, of 44 Richmond Street, Aberdeen, will also have to carry out 200 hours of community service.
The court previously heard that Brinkman was obsessed with solving the Madeleine McCann case.
His agent, solicitor Mike Monro, said Brinkman became fascinated with solving the mystery after reading a book by the child’s mother Kate about her and husband Gerry’s hunt for their daughter.
Brinkman admitted being in possession of and downloading indecent images of children at his flat when he first appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court earlier this year.
The 694 indecent pictures and 88 video clips – with a runtime of nearly five hours – were collected between April 2013 and January 2014.