A Star Wars fan, described as “a bit of a misfit”, has been jailed after being found with hundreds of indecent images of children.
Buckie man, James Bradford appeared in the dock at Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday wearing a t-shirt with the film franchise’s Yoda character on the front.
The court heard that Bradford, of 96 Milton Drive, was found in possession of 283 indecent images, 111 of which were graded as “category A” – meaning they were the most extreme.
He accepted charges of taking, or permitting to be taken, indecent photographs of children between January 5, 2011, and September 23, 2015.
He also admitted that between December 14, 2011, and September 24, 2015, he downloaded extreme pornographic material featuring adults and animals.
His lawyer, Robert Cruickshank, pleaded for Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov to show the accused leniency as he was a first offender.
Mr Cruickshank added: “He is quite lonely, and a bit of a misfit, he certainly lives a very isolated life.
“The loss of his mother may, to some extent, be connected to his offending.”
Sheriff Pasportnikov conceded that Bradford had never troubled the court previously, but was unmoved by Mr Cruickshank’s remonstrations.
She said: “We have sentencing guidelines in place and I don’t see any reason to divert from those.
“For the protection of the public I am imposing a 44-month extended sentence, of which 12 months will be spent in custody.”