You have plumbed the very abyss of depravity
Life for chef who abused 10 children, some as young as 2
ONE of Scotland worst paedophiles, who sexually abused children as young as two and filmed and distributed footage of his vile crimes, has been handed a life sentence.
Chef Benjamin Young sexually assaulted 10 children and subjected one victim to rape on dozens of occasions.
Judge Lord Arthurson told Young: “This, in my view, is one of the worst cases of its kind to come before the High Court.
“Your offending has plumbed the very abyss of depravity.”
Young, 43, earlier pled guilty at Edinburgh High Court to 32 offences on an indictment which originally contained 102 charges. The offences included rape, multiple sex assaults, and posession and taking and distribution of indecent images between January 2021 and December 2022.
Nearly all the offending occurred in Argyll and Bute.
Cybercrime experts discovered that Young was active on the Dark Web where he created and moderated online private chat rooms to facilitate the exchange of child abuse images. He also induced others to commit sexual offences against children and accepted indecent images of youngsters in exchange for entry to online private chat rooms.
After his home was raided and mobile phones were seized, almost 20,000 indecent images and videos were found.
The court heard that Young, who was assessed as high risk, told an expert who prepared a report on him he was thinking constantly of abusing children.
Lord Arthurson imposed an Order for Lifelong Restriction on Young and ordered that he must serve a minimum term of 12 years.
Young will only be released if the Parole Board decides it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that he remain in prison.
The judge said Young’s crimes were of the “utmost gravity” and he had inflicted abuse on the most defenceless members of society.
Advocate depute Kath Harper told the court: “The case involves extensive and prolonged sexual offending by Benjamin Young against 10 child complainers, all under 13 years at the time the offences were committed, and one adult (female) complainer. “The accused’s offending encompasses, but is not limited to, voyeurism, sexual assault and rape involving young children. “It also includes the creation and distribution of indecent videos and images of children, including videos of the accused raping and sexually abusing children.” In 2022, Police Scotland received intelligence from the National Crime Agency that someone at his address had distributed indecent images of children to a paedophile in
Denmark. The material featured girls between the ages of one and six.
Police seized two mobile phones during searches which were found to have scores of incriminating material.
The advocate depute said that because of the volume of images on one of the phones, examination of the device was carried out for three months.
She said some of the images showing child sexual exploitation were deemed to be “at the worst end of the spectrum”.
Young’s lawyer Ronnie Renucci KC said a report prepared on Young made “rather grim reading” and it indicated that he has a number of complex and long-standing psychological issues and conditions.
The court made non-harassment orders banning Young from contacting or attempting to contact victims. He was placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
this is one of the worst cases of its kind to come before the high court Judge Lord arthurson on young case