A prominent Tayside businessman has been placed on the sex offenders register after being convicted by a jury of possessing indecent images of young boys.
After six days of evidence at Forfar, unanimous guilty verdicts were returned against 60-year-old Alasdair Chalmers, the former managing director of Dundee-based DP&L Group Ltd.
The 60-year-old, of West Steading, Mains of Gagie, Kellas, had denied that between March 20 2005 and April 26 2011, at his home address and elsewhere, he took or permitted to be taken ormade indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children.
Chalmers also deniedpossessing indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children at his home address and elsewhere between March 20 2005 and January 31 2014.
More than 900 indecent images of boys aged from eight to 15 were found on computers and mobile phones seized from Chalmers’ home.
The trial heard a CD entitled “I Love Ze Frankfurters Ja” was recovered, along with evidence of a banned Canadian website and Russian-based site known to contain indecent material.
The accused claimed he had“absolutely no knowledge” of theindecent material, 97% of which the court heard was not easily accessible to the user of the devices.
Some of the images were stored in a password-protected application on a mobile phone owned by the accused.
Chalmers’ defence counsel told jurors the businessman was not particularly computer literate and the trial heardevidence from his former personalassistant that the businessman was not careful with passwords and security.
He will be sentenced on June 22following the preparation of reports, when the length of time Chalmers will stay on the sex offenders register will be set.
Following the verdict, Chalmers said: “I would simply wish to thank the small team of people who have helpedme through what has been a horrible ordeal.
“There is nothing further I canusefully add at this stage.”Retired after 30 years at historic firmIn 1987 Alasdair Chalmers took over from his father as managing director of the Dundee Perth and London (DP&L) shipping company group.
He retired last year after 30 years with the company, ending an 80-year family connection to the business.
Chalmers’ LinkedIn profile lists him as director of Border ReiverCommunications and a former director of an outfit called Cortachy Holdings Ltd from 1993 to 2014.
Interests outside business included his lay membership of Dundee College, as the establishment’s finance convener, for which an enhanced disclosure application formed part of the trial evidence.
His profile states he was also a board member at the college for 11 years between 1998 and 2009.
It also lists his skills as change management, business planning, strategy, marketing strategy, event management, coaching, business development and new business development.
He was educated at Dundee High School between 1959 and 1972 and has an MA in geography from St Andrews University, obtained between 1972 and 1976. He also speaks French.