Downloaded over 21,000 indecent photos and videos of children.

Man Sentenced to Prison for Downloading Child Abuse Images

A Lerwick man has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for downloading over 21,000 indecent photos and videos of children. Ross Robert Morrison, of Burgh Road, previously pleaded guilty at Lerwick Sheriff Court to taking or permitting the taking of these images between December 3, 2016, and January 16, 2018.

The court heard that the images recovered from Morrison's laptop were classified as both accessible and inaccessible, with the latter meaning they had been deleted. The images and videos spanned categories A, B, and C, with A being the most serious. Most of the images and videos were category C, with over 21,000 inaccessible images and nearly 300 inaccessible videos found in this category.

While there were no accessible images or videos in categories A or B, 15 inaccessible category A pictures and three videos were discovered. Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie stated that all the images and videos featured girls, some as young as five years old, and that Morrison frequented a Russian image website.

During sentencing on Wednesday, Morrison's defence agent, Tommy Allan, stated that his 46-year-old client struggled to cope with the fact he had committed the offence. Allan added that Morrison couldn't explain how he ended up viewing these images. While acknowledging the seriousness of the crime, Allan noted that the majority of the images were classified as the lower category C.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank expressed difficulty in understanding how someone could view such a vast quantity of images and videos without a purpose. He acknowledged that sentencing guidelines required taking the image classification into account. The sheriff ruled that custody was the only appropriate sentence and gave Morrison an extended sentence of 44 months, consisting of a 20-month prison sentence followed by a 24-month period on licence. Morrison was also placed on the sex offenders register.