Kid photo accused
Crime victims man in court
A Killearn man whose job it was to ensure crime victims are compensated has been sentenced at court for watching indecent images of children.
Craig Burke, 37, was found with 11 indecent images or videos of a “very graphic” nature in June of last year.
Burke is a civil servant with Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) but hasn’t been to work since his arrest 11 months ago.
The accused was said to be disgusted with his own behaviour and accepted that it was wrong.
A Killearn man whose job it was to ensure victims of crime are compensated has been placed on a community payback order for watching indecent images of children.
Craig Burke, 37, was found with 11 indecent images or videos of a “very graphic” nature at his Wellgreen home in June of last year.
Burke, a civil servant with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority ( CICA), was said to have “spoken to victims of sexual abuse through work” and could therefore “empathise” with them.
He was described at Stirling Sheriff Court as a man who used such pornographic images as a “coping mechanism” and to “de-stress”.
Fiscal depute Adrian Fraser explained that a police cyber crime unit, acting on intelligence, executed a search warrant on his property at 7.05am on June 24.
Mr Fraser said: “The accused opened the door and said he knew what they were there for. He allowed them entry and they seized a laptop belonging to the accused. The laptop was found to contain 11 indecent images, several of which were Category A. He was cautioned and made no reply.”
Defence solicitor David Fitzpatrick told the court that Burke is a single man who lives with his parents and still relies upon them.
Mr Fitzpatrick added: “He used the material as a coping mechanism, to alleviate the stresses in his life.
“It is triggered by stress and when the stress is exacerbated the material gets more extreme.
“He is disgusted with his own behaviour and he accepts that it was wrong. He has a high IQ and is of high intellect. He has taken steps to understand his use of porn and why he has done this. He has actually previously spoken to victims of child sex abuse through work and can empathise with them.
“Currently he is signed off with stress and when you speak to him he does appear anxious and stressed.”
Sheriff Wyllie Robertson said: “You have pleaded guilty to serious offences. The category of the images, moving and still, are set out and some are at the most severe level.
“This behaviour cannot be condoned and is severely dealt with by the court.”
Burke was placed under supervision for a period of three years and ordered to take part in the Making Changes Moving Forward sex offender treatment programme.
He is also forbidden from having unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 17 and using any device capable of accessing the internet unless what he is accessing is being checked.
Sh er i f f Ro b e r t son continued: “This is not in any way a soft or easy option for you. Do not delete or attempt to disguise the internet history.
“If you have accessed software and deleted it, police will find out.”
A spokesperson for Burke’s employer CICA said: “The member of staff has not worked with CICA since his arrest. Following his conviction we are now taking appropriate action.”