High-risk paedophile jailed for two years
Sheriff describes disturbing images as ‘mind-boggling’
A “high-risk” paedophile was jailed for two years yesterday after being caught with rape images so disturbing that a sheriff described them as “mindboggling”.
Jamie Sharp was slammed by a sheriff yesterday after he was caught with pictures and videos of babies and nursery- aged children being raped.
Sharp’s shocking cache of files included some victims so young that they were still wearing nappies.
It emerged at Paisley Sheriff Court that Sharp would view the vile content when his mum and partner were sleeping or out working.
Computing experts also discovered he had searched for “young real schoolgirls flashing in uniform” and “pre-teen”.
Sharp, 39, has now been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register and made the subject of a strict Sexual Offences Prevention Order – which limits his internet use and bans him from having contact with children.
Sharp admitted his guilt at court in May, pleading guilty to downloading and possessing child abuse images at the home he shared with his partner in High Street, Johnstone, on January 31 last year.
Before the facts of the case were outlined in court, Sheriff Colin Pet t i g rew warned members of the public that they might want to leave the court room due to what they were about to hear.
Sheriff Pettigrew warned: “I am simply giving a public notice of matters which may be found to be distressing by certain members of the public.”
Procurator Fiscal Depute Fiona Holligan said police received information that an IP address had been used to access indecent images of children.
A Sony mobile phone, a Compaq laptop, an Apple computer, a Cyclone Odyssey Tablet and a USB stick were seized and sent off for testing, revealing that a total of 53 images had been viewed on the devices.
Mrs Holligan, prosecuting, said: “Chat logs showed the user had an extreme sexual interest in children.”
Following the searches of the computer, Sharp was traced to a caravan park in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, where he was detained and interviewed.
Sentence had been deferred for background reports to be prepared.
Sharp, who was spared jail in 2007 after being convicted of indecent behaviour towards a young girl and hoarding a previous cache of child abuse images, returned to the dock yesterday to learn his fate.
Sheriff Pettigrew placed Sharp on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years, made him the subject of a five- year- long Sexual Offences Prevention Order and jailed him for two years, reduced from two-and-a-half years as he admitted his guilt.
The sheriff said: “Punishment, denunciation and general deterrence are paramount.”
He also pointed out the “age and vulnerability” of the children being abused in the files Sharp was caught with, adding: “Some of the ages are mind-boggling as to their youth. “These are serious offences. “There can only be one disposal today, and that is custody – no other method of dealing with you would be appropriate.”
Some of the ages are mind-boggling as to their youth. These are serious offences Sheriff Pettigrew