A repeat sex offender who downloaded a stash of child abuse images on his mum’s laptop has been given a six-year jail term.
James Stewart, 42, had dodged prison on an identical charge just months before creating a new horde of indecent images of children.
Police working on a tip-off raided a flat in Dundee he was living, and his mother’s home in Arbroath.
They found images stored on a hard drive and an iPad — as well as a computer belonging to Stewart’s mother.
He has now been handed an extended jail term after a sheriff told him he had “completely subverted” a three-year community order he was placed on in early 2015.
Fiscal depute Trina Sinclair told Dundee Sheriff Court: “The accused is a repeat offender and a registered sex offender having been convicted in January 2015.
“On November 19 2015 police received intelligence that a device connected to the internet had been downloading indecent images of children.
“The accused’s property was searched along with his mother’s address. Equipment was seized for examination.”
Child abuse images — some at the most serious level — were discovered on a PC tower and a hard drive as well as videos running to five hours and 49 minutes.
Miss Sinclair added: “A Toshiba laptop owned by his mother was examined. The hard drive had been connected to it previously.
“It contained 174 images of males and females aged five to 15.
“His mother denied any knowledge of the content.”
Stewart, of Strathairlie Avenue, Arbroath, admitted the offence.
Defence solicitor David Sinclair said: “He is living with his mother now.
“He’s aware he appears on a serious matter and he has breached his previous court orders as a result.”
Sheriff George Way revoked the community payback order imposed on Stewart for his original offence and jailed him for three years on that charge.
He further imposed a six-year extended sentence on Stewart, with three years to be served in prison and three on licence, over the new offences. Those sentences will be served concurrently.
The sheriff said: “This is utterly unacceptable and disgusting behaviour — he basically went behind the court’s back and did it again.”
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