A paedophile waiting to be sentenced for downloading sick child abuse files will be sentenced for a second identical offence on the same day.
Last month, Matthew Watt admitted downloading and possessing indecent images of children before a trial in which he was acquitted of a transatlantic sextortion plot.
He pled guilty to downloading indecent images of children between July 2019 and May 2020.
Watt also admitted having illicit material between April and May 2020.
He will be sentenced for these offences on March 27 at Dundee Sheriff Court.
However, at a hearing on Tuesday, he admitted having more vile material which was uncovered during a bail check at his Broughty Ferry home.
Search history clearance
When he was released from court in relation to the previous offence, he was bailed with special conditions affecting his access to devices which can access the internet.
Watt must make his phone available for inspection by police and he was forbidden from clearing any search history.
Officers arrived at his home in Rowanbank Gardens on March 19 2021.
Fiscal depute Lynne Mannion explained Watt’s mother, Lorraine, answered the door and allowed officers entry.
After checking Watt’s phone, they suspected deletions had been made from the device.
The gadget was further analysed and it was discovered sickening photographs had been downloaded just two months earlier.
In total, police uncovered evidence of 341 images, 41 of which being categorised as the most graphic filth and involved pre-teen girls being abused by adult men.
Some of the photographs also depicted boys engaged in sex acts and girls as young as four being abused.
The creation dates of the files showed they were downloaded between May 11 2020 and January 19 2021.
Second offence
Returning to the dock on Tuesday, Watt pled guilty to taking or making the files in the eight-month period.
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael released Watt on bail and explained he would be sentenced on both indictments at the end of the month.
The sheriff ordered a fresh social work report and placed 23-year-old Watt on the Sex Offenders Register for a second time.
“I think you know what that’s all about because I told you last time around,” he said.
First raid on college student
The bail conditions which allowed police to snare Watt again were imposed after an earlier raid at his home.
On that occasion, Watt was an art and design student at Dundee and Angus College.
During a search of his house, a phone and computer tower were recovered.
Both devices were found to contain explicit images of child abuse, including a three-minute video of a girl aged between 12 and 14 being raped.
Sheriff Carmichael warned Watt on that occasion he could be sent to prison.
Several of the jurors who had found six charges of sexual extortion levelled at Watt not proven looked shocked when they were informed about his child abuse haul.
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