A man has been warned it is “highly possible” he will be jailed for distributing indecent images of children online and discussing sickening abuse fantasies on messaging apps.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told Scott Smollet used Snapchat to swap horrifying pictures of child sex abuse.
Children as young as three featured in his depraved stash of images, which included 22 files ranked as category A – the most serious.
The 44-year-old was caught when police received intelligence about indecent images of children being uploaded from his address in Kintore.
Fiscal depute Lynzi Souter told Aberdeen Sheriff Court: “On September 14 2020, intelligence was received that indecent images of children were uploaded at the locus through Kik and Snapchat accounts.
“As a result of this, on September 24 2020, an evidential search warrant was craved and granted.
“On September 28 2020, officers attended at the locus and executed the warrant. The accused was present at this time.
“During the search, various devices were seized. During a preview examination of an iPhone belonging to the accused, five category A images were found.
“The images featured girls aged approximately six to eight years old.
“A chat with an unidentified person was also found where one category A image had been sent from the phone on May 2 2020. The image was of a boy and a girl aged approximately 10 years old.
‘Fantasies about sexually abusing children’
“On August 16 2020 the same person was sent two category A images and one category A video from the phone.
“The images feature girls approximately eight years old and the video features a girl aged approximately six years old.
“The accused was cautioned and arrested and made no reply.”
However, Mrs Souter said Smollet “spoke freely” in his police interview.
She said: “The accused admitted to accessing and viewing indecent images of children and sharing indecent images with others.
Collection included images of ‘girls and boys estimated to be between three and 16’
“He admitted using chat websites to engage in sexualised conversations with others and to exchange sexual images including indecent images of children.”
Smollet was cautioned and charged.
Mrs Souter went on: “A full cybercrime examination of the phone was carried out and 45 indecent images and videos were recovered.
“Highly sexualised chats with other people were also found.
“The content of the chats included fantasies about sexually abusing children.
“During these chats, the accused sent indecent images of children to others.
“There were 39 images and six video files. These featured girls and boys estimated to be between three and 16 years old engaged in sexual activity with adults and each other and sexualised posing.”
A total of 22 of these files, a mixture of accessible and inaccessible ones, were category A.
Smollet, of Brae Crescent, Kintore, pled guilty to distributing or showing indecent images of children, and to taking, permitting to be taken or making indecent images of children.
The offences were committed between November 30 2019 and August 26 2020.
Defence agent Gregor Kelly asked for sentence to be deferred on his client for reports, and reserved mitigation until the sentencing hearing.
Sheriff Philip Mann said he would “give consideration to all possible disposals”, warning: “A custodial sentence is entirely possible.”
He deferred sentence until next month and ordered a social work report and restriction of liberty order assessment.
The sheriff also made Smollet subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act.