Inverness man who downloaded child pornography 'either stupid or determined', says Highland sheriff
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A sheriff described an Inverness man who had continued to download child porn and be caught by police as "either stupid or determined".
But Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood decided to give 21-year-old Jake Driver more time to overcome his problem after a plea by solicitor advocate Clare Russell.
Sentence had been deferred last month on Driver, of Union Street, Inverness for a background report which would include his progress on a sex offender's programme called Moving Forward Making Changes.
Ms Russell said her client was due for an assessment by a psychologist and had only completed a few months' rehabilitation on the programme.
She said: "He needs more time to address his underlying issues and complete the programme."
Sheriff Fleetwood agreed and deferred sentence for six months to May 14 for Driver's good behaviour and an up to date report.
Inverness Sheriff Court had previously been told that officers from the National Child Abuse Investgation unit raided a Wester Ross house and found indecent images of children on Driver's phone.
Driver had admitted downloading 37 photographs of girls aged between three and 12 years old and that he had analogous previous convictions.
He also pleaded guilty to breaching a special bail condition that he was not to be in the company of any child under the age of 17 without an adult present.
Fiscal depute Robert Weir told Sheriff Sara Matheson that a house in MacInnes Place, Ratagan, Glenshiel had been searched on November 21, 2022 and the inaccessible images were discovered on his device.
The court heard that Driver later reported himself to police of being in the company of a 16 year old in a house in Peffery Road, Dingwall on April 19, 2023.
Ms Russell said: "He was of the erroneous belief that the individual was 17."
