Methil man jailed for two years for having child abuse images

A Methil sex offender who was caught with child abuse images for a second time has been jailed for 24 months.

David Robertson appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court yesterday after previously admitting being in possession of the photos at his former home on Oakvale Road.

The 29-year-old claimed he had been downloading music when he stumbled across the pornographic images of young girls aged four to six.

However, he admitted that instead of deleting the images, he continued to open files which contained more than 300 graphic images.

Defence solicitor Larissa Milligan told the court social workers had identified issues with her client’s compliance with a previous probation order by the court.

She said he acknowledged his effort had been “superficial” but now accepted he needed help.

Robertson’s “lack of empathy” was also noted as a cause for concern by social workers.

Miss Milligan added that her client had been forced to leave the family home after it was vandalised and his brother’s car was petrol bombed.

Sheriff James Williamson said: “Mr Robertson you were sentenced in 2012 to a period of probation for offences of a directly analogous matter.

“Yet here you are again on a second indictment for not just possessing images but taking or permitting images, some of which were in category A.

“For the avoidance of doubt, that includes images showing sexual activity between an adult and young girls between four to six years of age.

“Given your previous conviction, I am satisfied that there is no alternative to a custodial sentence.”