A man caught with hundreds of sick videos of children used a coded phrase to trade the vile content with other paedophiles, a court has heard.
Mitchel Steven had more than 400 sick videos of children on his mobile phone when it was seized by police.
Investigators also found exchanges on the Telegram messaging app where Steven used a recognised phrase to initiate trades of child abuse material.
Steven, 21, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit possessing and distributing indecent images of children.
Fiscal depute Alison Young told the court that it was January 3 of last year when officers acting on intelligence obtained a warrant to search Steven’s home in Smithton Park, Smithton.
When they arrived at the property they were informed that Steven was staying elsewhere, and found him at that address.
Search warrant mobile seizure
They advised Steven that a search warrant had been obtained and at that point seized a Samsung mobile phone and laptop that he had with him.
He was then taken to his home address where no further items were recovered.
The court heard that Steven provided investigators with the password for his mobile phone and examination of the device uncovered 431 accessible videos featuring child sexual exploitation material, as well as 15 still images.
“Some of the children appeared to be as young as one year old,” Mrs Young told Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald.
Coded message to other paedophiles
There were 230 videos deemed to be category A, the most serious. There were 123 category B videos and 77 category C videos.
Five of the still images were category A, four category B and six category C.
The investigation also found a number of conversations which had been conducted in the Telegram messaging app, where the user of the device had sent a phrase that officers recognised as a coded invitation to exchange child abuse material.
A number of conversations showed child abuse material being traded.
Solicitor David Patterson, for Steven, reserved his comments in mitigation for the sentencing hearing, which Sheriff MacDonald deferred for the production of reports.
Placed Steven on the sex offenders register with immediate effect, she told him: “I’m going to consider all sentencing options.”
