A sheriff has told two men who admitted looking at indecent images of children their actions contribute to the demand for child sex abuse.
Sheriff Andrew Miller made the comments at Aberdeen Sheriff Court when he ordered the two men – who appeared in separate cases – to do unpaid work.
Stelian Birnaz, 33, admitted possessing indecent images of children at his home address – given in court as Castle Street, Aberdeen – between October 22 2014 and November 30 2018.
The court heard how police found several hundred indecent images of children on devices belonging to Birnaz and some of the images were graded Category A – the most serious.
Sheriff Miller was told Birnaz had deleted other images before police became involved as he realised his actions were wrong.
In sentencing Birnaz to a three-year rehabilation programme, three years of supervision and 225 hours of unpaid work, Sheriff Miller said: “This is a very serious offence. The items found contained images and videos of children involved in various depictions of sexual actions.
“Someone who looks for and looks at images of this kind helps to create demand for these images, which in turn contributes to the abuse of the children shown in images of this kind.”
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In a separate case, Mark Tait, 21, admitted possessing indecent images of children at his home address – given in court as Springdale Road, Bieldside – between January 6 2016 and January 11 this year.
The court heard Tait was on holiday in the Philippines when police searched his home and found 222 indecent images – 24 of which were category A.
Sheriff Miller said: “As I said in the previous case this offence is very serious as behind every image is a victim.”
Tait was ordered to go on a three-year rehabilitation programme, undergo three years of supervision and do 210 hours of unpaid work.
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