Former youth football child protection officer who downloaded child abuse images.

Former Youth Football Officer Sentenced for Child Abuse Images

Ryan Cullen, a former youth football child protection officer from Linnvale, has been given additional unpaid work after breaching the conditions of his community payback order. Cullen, who was sentenced in 2019 for possessing indecent images of children, was found to have taken on work without informing his supervising officers.

In 2019, Cullen admitted to two charges related to the creation and possession of indecent images of children between June 2015 and November 2018. He was sentenced to a three-year community payback order (CPO) with supervision by social workers and 250 hours of unpaid work.

Cullen's defense solicitor, Brian McGuire, argued that his client was the last person he would have expected to breach the order. He explained that Cullen's mother had asked him to assist with some work as a favour, for which he was paid but later returned the money.

Sheriff William Gallacher accepted Cullen's explanation but emphasized that he should have informed his supervising officer. He allowed the CPO to continue but added 75 more hours of unpaid work to be completed within six months.

Cullen must now discuss any future voluntary or paid work with his supervising officer before undertaking it. Sheriff Gallacher warned Cullen, "I don't expect to see you again."

In 2019, the Scottish Youth Football Association (SYFA) stated that they were looking into Cullen's case due to his previous role with the Dunbartonshire Youth Football Development League (DYFDL).