Man jailed for possessing almost 600,000 indecent images

An IT consultant who admitted possessing almost 600,000 indecent photos and video clips of children, which were found when he was at his mother’s funeral in Shetland, was jailed today for 25 months.

Yeoman Smith, 35, appeared for sentence at the High Court in Glasgow after admitting possession of the pornographic images and a separate charge of acting in a lewd and libidinous manner in front of a five-year-old girl.

Judge Lord Uist said Smith had stored the images for his “sexual gratification”. He jailed Smith and ordered that he be supervised for three years on his release.

At an earlier hearing, the High Court in Edinburgh was told how the self-employed IT expert had returned to Shetland last year following the death of his mother. A neighbour meantime had contacted a friend of Smith’s to complain about a water leak from the accused’s flat.

The friend later visited the property in the capital’s Livingston Place on 21st June. The man became “uneasy” after he found a children’s clothing catalogue in the flat before recalling he had once seen a bag of computer discs in a concealed cupboard. He was shocked to discover they contained images. The friend contacted police, who later seized a number of laptops and other equipment from the flat.

A total of 581,649 pictures were found stored together with 1,884 video clips. First offender Smith was detained in Shetland and confessed to “deliberately” downloading images from the internet. The court heard that Smith had turned to the images due to the “stress” he claimed he was under.

Lord Uist placed Smith on the sex offenders’ register for the next 10 years.