Inverness teenager had vile images of child abuse after straying into 'dark world'
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
An Inverness teenager who began downloading vile images of child abuse when he was just aged 14 has had strict controls on his internet use imposed by a sheriff.
Jake Milne (19), of no fixed abode, appeared for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court after admitting downloading almost 400 still images and 96 videos of children in various forms of sex activity and posing from May 19, 2019 until May 31, 2023.
Fiscal depute Emily Hood told Sheriff David Harvie that police received intelligence that the obscene material was accessed from a property in Inverness and obtained a search warrant which was exercised on May 31, last year.
A laptop and two mobile phones were seized and officers discovered the pornographic material on them. Further analysis revealed 74 category A (the most graphic) video plus 37 accessible stills and 66 inaccessible stills. The remaining stills and videos were also in lesser obscene categories and were either accessible or had been deleted.
Solicitor advocate Shahid Latif told the court: "This has been a problem for this young man for some time after he strayed into a dark world.
"He has spent eight months on remand in custody which is not insignificant for a young man."
The lawyer asked that a community-based disposal be imposed so that the first offender could continue his rehabilitation.
Sheriff Harvie agreed and ordered Milne to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. He was placed under social work supervision for three years and on the Sex Offenders' Register for the same period.
In addition, he placed restrictions on the number of internet enabled devices Milne was able to possess at one time with instructions that he must make them available for inspection on request.
Some of the other controls included Milne being prevented from using encryption software on them and must not delete search history.
Sheriff Harvie told the teenager: "This is not a victimless crime."
