Padeophile facing jail over 110,000 images

A PAEDOPHILE who amassed more than 110,000 photographs and videos of child abuse was last night facing jail.

Ronald Brunton, from Dunblane, Perthshire, began collecting the images on March 14, 1996 – the day after Thomas Hamilton murdered 16 pupils and their teacher at the town’s primary school.

Brunton, 71, pleaded guilty at Falkirk Sheriff Court to possessing 101,082 child abuse images and 11,353 child abuse movies at his home.

Nearly 15,000 of the still images and 7,000 of the videos were classified as category A – the most serious kind.

The court heard the collection was discovered when police found that an email address and a web address linked to Brunton were being used for child abuse purposes.

Sheriff Craig Caldwell deferred sentence until January 25 for reports. He warned Brunton: ‘This is a very serious catalogue of offending. All possible disposals are under consideration.’