AN ALLOA man caught with child sexual abuse images has been sentenced to carry out unpaid work.
Ross Cumming, 58, of Sandpiper Meadow, appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court.
He admitted that between October 13, 2021 and November 6, 2023 he downloaded indecent images of children.
Depute fiscal Sean Iles said police executed a search of Cumming’s home, devices were seized and they were found to contain 33 illegal videos.
Defence solicitor Mark Harrower said his client’s position was that he was looking for photos of people smoking not of naked children.
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He said his client had never been in trouble before and since the police raid his life had been “in turmoil”.
He was “unaware of where the videos came from”, added the solicitor and “he failed to recognise that looking at these images would land him trouble”.
The solicitor conceded the author of the social work report was “sceptical” about Cumming’s claims about looking for smoking pictures.
“He’s adamant he was not looking for people who were under-age,” said Mr Harrower.
“He seems to have a fixation of looking at pictures of people smoking cigarettes, which is rooted in issues from when he was very young.”
Sheriff Clair McLachlan imposed a community payback order with 135 hours of unpaid work and two years of supervision.
Cumming was also put on the sex offenders register for two years.
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