Sentencing in child porn case postponed

A SHERIFF failed to sentence a former top Scottish Prison Service official caught with a huge cache of child porn at his home due to the complex nature of the case and her busy workload.

Gordon Pike – who was the organisation’s Trade Union Side Secretary but retired last year – was caught with more than 22,000 images of children being abused.

Officers uncovered the haul at his home in Erskine, Renfrewshire, last year, after he was arrested at Scottish Prison Service headquarters in Edinburgh.

Pike, 55, claimed he had come in to possession of it by accident, after taking a holdall filled with gay porn home.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard it had been handed in to an LGBT organisation in Glasgow where he was a member and that he took it home before putting it up in his loft when he suspected there was child porn on some of the discs.

Last month Pike, who worked at Barlinnie for over 23 years, pleaded guilty to possessing the sordid stash at Paisley Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Susan Sinclair deferred sentence for background reports and Pike returned to the dock yesterday.

But Sheriff Sinclair said she had to balance all aspects of the case and didn’t feel she could do so when there were 15 other cases due to call before her.

She said the fact that Pike had so many images was “a fairly significant issue.” She added: “Normally to obtain the number of images which he’s obtained someone would require to do quite a bit of work but it seems they have come in to your client’s possession in bulk.

“This does distinguish it between other types of cases. I want to give it due consideration rather than decide in a busy court. I need to give it due consideration and also to balance the public interest but also to balance your interests.”

Pike is now set to learn his fate next week.