A disgraced Dundee businessman has been locked up after admitting downloading hundreds of child abuse files over more than a decade.
David Rankine, the former director of top Dundee firm MTC Media has been jailed for eight months after police uncovered hundreds of horrifying child abuse images on computers at his home.
Rankine has also had an extension added to his sentence after he was caught with pictures and videos featuring boys as young as four being sexually assaulted by adults.
Police descended on his home in Carnoustie after a tip-off about illicit downloads in early 2021.
They seized a range of devices, including four laptops and two iPhones.
Analysts found around 750 illicit files, with about a third ranked as Category A for obscenity.
Shortly after pleading guilty, it was revealed Rankine was a regular first aid volunteer with St Andrews First Aid, including at schools.
Prison alone ‘not adequate’
Rankine, of Kirkton of Auchterhouse, admitted possessing indecent images of children at his then-home in Henry Cotton Place, Carnoustie, between December 24 2008 and January 21 2021.
He appeared from custody at Perth Sheriff Court to be sentenced.
Sheriff Euan Duthie jailed Rankine for eight months and made him subject to supervised release for a further two years and four months, bringing the total sentence to three years, backdated to June.
He also placed Rankine on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.
“Given the severity, I’m satisfied the period in custody is not adequate,” the sheriff said.
He said that by viewing the files, Rankine’s habit has fuelled the pain, fear and psychological harm caused to children.
Rankine, 42, resigned as a director at MTC Media two months after his arrest.
MTC Media stressed staff knew nothing about his sordid habits and confirmed he had not had an active role in the firm since 2018.
‘He couldn’t stop himself’
The court heard a social worker who assessed Rankine considered his risk to the public as being low to moderate.
Solicitor Mark Chambers said: “This is an exceptional case.
“He has sought help, it might be said a little too late.
“He has displayed remorse.
“When he found himself in the situation with police, he immediately sought help.
“It’s compulsive behaviour. He couldn’t stop himself when he was in a low mood.
“He was hiding it from his long term partner.
“It’s almost like he’s relieved to find himself finally facing up to it and seeking treatment.”
Mr Chambers said Rankine would continue with treatment if it took him the rest of his life.
He added: “This is a man who has fully accepted and faced up to his responsibility.
“This… has had a catastrophic and dramatic impact on is life.”
Police raid
At a previous hearing, fiscal depute Alistair McDermid told the court: “Confidential information was received by Police Scotland that indecent images of children may have been held within a property at Henry Cotton Place, Carnoustie.”
Officers armed with a search warrant arrived at the house just after 8am on January 14 last year.
“The accused answered the door and police were permitted access,” said Mr McDermid.
“A systematic search of the address was then commenced by four officers.”
Four laptops, two iPhones, six hard-drives and a tablet device were seized.
An initial examination of one of the laptops confirmed it contained obscene images of children.
The fiscal depute told the court 574 still images and 183 videos were found on some of the devices.
“The male children depicted in these pictures and videos are between four and 16 years of age,” he said.
Some of the files showed the children being sexually abused by adults and other children.
