Depraved dentist jailed over vile child images

Police found sick pictures and films during raid

A former Paisley dentist struck off after he concealed having HIV has been jailed for having a haul of indecent images of children.

Harry Robertson, 57, was struck off from the dental register in 2014 after a case went before the General Dental Council.

Robertson practised at Kelburne Dental Surgery and in August 2013 it emerged publicly that he had the virus that causes AIDS.

Last June the disgraced dentist was caught wth a vile stash of indecent pictures and videos of children at his flat in Glasgow.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court, Robertson was handed an 18- month prison sentence after he admitted downloading and possessing the sick images between July 2009 and 2017.

Sheriff Joseph Platt said he considered Robertson’s lack of previous convictions and health problems he suffered from, but said “the children involved in these images were hideously abused”.

Robertson was also put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years. The court heard police received information last June that there were indecent images at the Cleveden Drive flat.

On June 6 police searched the property and found a hard drive, laptop and USB sticks that were later forensically examined.

The court was told 130 still images and 85 videos were found on the various devices with the majority being “category A”, the most serious.

Robertson was detained and interviewed and made no reply when he was later charged.

Defence lawyer Rodney Stevens said following Robertson’s HIV diagnosis his relationship broke down and he stopped working in 2012.

Then in 2013 there was a “rapid decline in his mental health”.

He said Robertson didn’t actively search for the images but used a video sharing application and accepts “he should have taken action to avoid these images”.

NHSGGC became aware of Robertson’s health status in May of 2013 and referred him to the General Dental Council (GDC).

In 2014 the General Dental Council conducted a private hearing into his actions, with the majority of the charges against him withheld from the public, but documents show he was accused of “dishonest conduct”.

A ruling on the case stated: “The committee has determined that it is appropriate to erase the name of Harry Gordon Robertson from the Dentists Register.”

In August 2013, NHSGGC contacted patients who had been treated by Robertson between January 2004 and March 2013.

More than 10,000 patients were tested and no-one was found to be HIV positive.

However, hundreds of patients were not traced at that time although a public awareness campaign was conducted in the hope these people would present for testing.