A paedophile pensioner from Pitlochry caught with a stash of nearly 11,000 obscene pictures of children has been spared jail.
Colin Walls, 75, downloaded the vile material out of boredom, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
He “remained calm” when police raided his home in Highland Perthshire, telling his wife things would be fine.
But he was warned he could have been jailed when he appeared in the dock and admitted possessing the mass of indecent photos.
Sheriff William Wood told Walls his age and lack of criminal history had helped keep him out of prison.
Computers seized
The court heard how police received intelligence an IP address registered at Walls’ home in Bonnethill Road had been used to access child sex abuse material.
Officers descended on the property just before 9am on June 27 2022.
Walls and his wife were taken into the living room, where police explained the reason for the search.
His wife replied: “It’s not me.”
The court was told Walls remained calm and repeatedly told his wife “everything would be okay”.
A computer hard drive and a storage device were seized by investigators.
They were found to have a total of 10,903 images, featuring young female children.
All the files were listed at Category C – the lowest level – on the court’s obscenity scale.
‘Substantial’ amount of files
Walls, who has no previous convictions, is at a low risk of reoffending, his lawyer said.
“He is aware that the custody threshold has been met in a case of this nature,” he added.
“The catalyst for this offending appears to be boredom and isolation.”
He will be embarking on a rehabilitation scheme as part of the Stop It Now programme, the court heard.
Sheriff William Wood told Walls: “The nature and number of images found in your possession was substantial.
“That means imposing a custodial sentence is an option that is open to me.”
But he said: “I take account your age and the fact you appear before the court as a first offender.
“It is also a significant factor that none of the images are categorised higher than C, the lowest category of this type.
“But that does not minimise the abuse these children were subjected to in order to create this images.
“I am satisfied I can deal with this other than a custodial sentence but it will be robust disposal.”
Walls was placed on supervision and ordered to carry out 160 hours unpaid work.
He will stay on the Sex Offenders Register for two years.
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