A former Stirling councillor caught with a hoard of child abuse material has been ordered to perform unpaid work.
Ewan Dillon was found with the sick stash following a raid on his home in the city.
Dillon was the independent member for Dunblane and Bridge of Allan and pled guilty last month at Stirling Sheriff Court.
The 21-year-old resigned on the day he admitted downloading indecent images of children.
He was initially elected as a Labour councillor and became an independent in October 2022 – one month after being snared by police.
The court was previously told how Dillon was caught with a total of 58 images.
Fifteen of those were listed as Category A , which are at the highest level of depravity.
First offender Dillon returned to the dock on Wednesday following the preparation of a criminal justice social work report.
Alternative to prison
Defence solicitor George Pollock was not asked to offer mitigation by Sheriff Keith O’Mahony.
The sheriff said that after reading the terms of the report, he was persuaded to impose a community payback order “with various elements”.
Dillon was placed on supervision for two years and ordered to perform 270 hours of unpaid work.
He will be subject to the sex offenders registration requirements for the next five years.
The community payback order was imposed as a direct alternative to a custodial sentence.
The court heard how police carried out a search at Dillon’s home on September 29, 2022 after receiving intelligence.
He told officers he had observed indecent images of children on the mobile phone but had never saved any of them.
He said: “All I want to say on the record is that it’s an accident.
“It’s a link, something has been downloaded, or sent to me, and I’ve deleted it.
“The fact of the matter is that it has been on my phone at one point but I deleted it.”
Helen Nisbet, Procurator Fiscal for Tayside, Central and Fife, said: “Ewan Dillon pleaded guilty to and has now been sentenced for possessing horrendous images of child abuse.
“These are not victimless crimes. They perpetuate the humiliation and devastation suffered by child victims of sexual abuse and are an affront to society.
“We will always treat these crimes seriously.”
Children’s committee convener
Dillon, 21, of Market Street, Stirling, was elected to office when he was just 19 in May 2022, as a Labour councillor.
Prior to quitting the Labour Party group on Stirling Council, former Dunblane High pupil Dillon had been vice-convener of the community planning and regeneration committee and the children and young people committee.
At the time of conviction, the SNP group on the council said it is “horrified and saddened” by the situation and called for a review “to ensure something like this can never happen again”.
Stirling Council noted the conviction and a by-election is scheduled for August 15 to replace the disgraced former member for Dunblane and Bridge of Allan.
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