A Fife teenager who hoarded indecent images of children in a vault app disguised as a calculator, has been banned from having contact with children.
Cameron Miller, who was released from Polmont Young Offenders Institute this week, admitted keeping the files at the house in Kirkcaldy he shared with his mother, between November 24, 2019 and January 22, 2020.
Now no longer welcome at the family home, Miller was released from HMP Polmont on Monday and now stays at Bobby Jones Place in St Andrews.
He appeared before Sheriff James Williamson again on Friday to be sentenced.
19-year-old Cameron told police he had stumbled upon the filth by accident but Sheriff Williamson questioned the teenager’s computing expertise.
Calculator Vault app explained
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court previously heard police raided his home at 8am and he told them he had an Xbox, laptop and mobile phone, all capable of accessing the internet.
He allowed police to search the password-protected laptop, which he claimed to have purchased second-hand from Cash Generator.
Officers found evidence Miller had been using Tor, a search engine often used to access the dark web.
Stored on the laptop were 1,242 indecent images of children and 567 vile videos.
142 of the pictures and 319 of the videos were of the most serious Category A type.
Police found suspicious search terms on the device as well.
Upon checking Miller’s mobile phone, police found a Calculator Vault filled with more disgusting files.
At Miller’s first court hearing, fiscal depute Claire Bremner explained the vault is a mobile phone app looks and operates as a calculator but by entering a special passcode, an area for storing files could be accessed.
She added: “It looks like a simple calculator but by entering the correct password, the vault became accessible.”
Within the encrypted vault, officers found 18 category C images, a pair of category A videos, a category B video and two category C videos.
Sheriff Williamson said: “For someone of his age, it seems to be relatively sophisticated.
“That doesn’t square that he stumbled on these by accident.
“Does he have formal computing skills?”
His defence solicitor said Miller did not have any training in IT.
Range of restrictions imposed
On Friday, Sheriff Williamson placed Miller on the Sex Offenders Register for two years and under supervision for the same period.
During this period, Miller must only stay at accommodation approved by his supervisor and he has been prohibited from having any contact with children under 16 unless it is also signed off by his supervisor.
Miller must also ensure his internet search history is stored and made available to police and supervisors upon request for inspection.
He will also have a review in December.
Sheriff Williamson warned him that should be he caught again, a custodial sentence awaits.
The sheriff added: “Notwithstanding your age, you’ll find yourself going to prison.”
