Two men who filmed themselves sexually abusing a young boy before sharing the sickening video with another pervert have been jailed for a total of 19 years.
Scott Sinclair, 30, and Richard Gallagher, 27, were arrested after police found horrifying movies on a phone belonging to Aberdeen man Robert Stewart.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard yesterday the images showed Sinclair and Gallagher raping and sexually assaulting a schoolboy.
Officers established the film was one of a series made by Sinclair of him abusing the boy.
Police found that Gallagher had shared the images with Stewart – who admitted being in possession of indecent images at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in June – by using social messaging service WhatsApp.
The videos were made between June 2011 and April 2014, and police later discovered Sinclair had started sexually abusing the youngster in June 2007, when he was just eight.
The horrific films were uncovered in June 2014 when police raided Stewart’s home in the Granite City. Officers managed to establish Gallagher had shared the images with him.
Yesterday, judge Lord Boyd jailed Sinclair, of Manchester, for 12 years and made a five-year supervision order for his release.
Gallagher, of Edinburgh, was jailed for seven years.
The pair – who met on an online dating site and occasionally got together – had previously pleaded guilty to rape and sexual assault charges.
Lord Boyd told them there was no alternative to jail, and said: “You treated this young boy as your sexual plaything. You made videos of the abuse. This added to the degradation and humiliation of your victim.
“It is impossible to establish the impact that your crimes have had on the complainer in this case.”
Stewart, of the Powis area of Aberdeen, was put on the sex offenders register for three years and sentenced to 200 hours of community service when he appeared in court in June for a string of child pornography offences.
He admitted downloading 11 indecent videos of children between December 18, 2013 and March 2, 2014, distributing a video of children on a file-sharing website, and filming the occupants of the men’s changing room in the city’s DW Sports Fitness Club between August 21 and November 21, 2012.