A production manager for an offshore services company has been jailed after an “addiction” led to him downloading more than 58,000 images of child pornography.
Richard Suttie was caught by police after his e-mail address was found to be linked to the obscene images.
When officers searched his home he took them straight to an external hard drive before saying – “this is what you are looking for”.
Suttie appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday to be sentenced afert previously admitted downloading a total of 58,072 indecent images of children as well as 291 illicit videos.
The court heard that officers had originally appeared at his home early in the morning with a search warrant, however they discovered the 33-year-old was working at the Oilenco offices in Westhill.
Fiscal depute Kelly Mitchell said that when contacted at his work, he agreed to go back to his house before showing police what they were looking for.
Miss Mitchell said: “Throughout December 2014 police had received certain intelligence in relation to a specific e-mail address or account in relation to indecent images of children.
“As a result of this intelligence a search warrant was craved and executed at the locus.”
She added: “When he attended he spontaneously produced an external hard drive which was seized by the police along with two other devices, which were laptop computers.
“The accused then attended voluntarily for interview at the police station, declined solicitor access and made full admissions to having images of that nature.”
The court heard that since his arrest Suttie has been supported by his partner who has promised to stay with him. He also remained employed by Oilenco despite confessing to his managers what he had done.
Representing the first offender yesterday, solicitor Lynn Bentley tried to convince Sheriff Graham Buchanan to allow her client to keep his liberty.
She said in the last year he had sought help and counselling for his “addiction” and was doing well.
The court heard that most of the 58,000 images and videos were also graded as being “level 1” which is deemed to be at the lowest end of the scale.
However, there were also dozens of images graded at level 4 and one at level 5 – the most serious.
Sheriff Buchanan said there was no alternative than to jail Suttie, of Flat D1 Mackie Place, Elrick, Westhill, and sentenced him to seven months behind bars.
He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.
