Edinburgh crime: Roy McGregor who was caught with child abuse images avoids jail term

An Edinburgh pervert who asked a court for the return of his holiday snaps which were stored on the same device as a sick collection of child abuse images has escaped a prison sentence.

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Roy McGregor was caught with the vile material showing children between the ages of four and 12-years-old being sexually abused by adults when police raided his home last year.

Officers confiscated a hard drive and a system unit belonging to McGregor which were both found to have a haul of sordid pictures and videos contained on them.

Roy McGregor has escaped a jail sentence

McGregor, 37, pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month.

During the hearing his lawyer asked if photos of McGregor on holiday with a previous partner could be “recovered” from the devices and returned to him.

The sicko was back in the dock on Wednesday where he was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for three years and on a supervision order for the same period.

Sheriff Alistair Noble said: “You pled guilty to two charges involving indecent photographs of children.

“Offences such as these do attract custodial sentences but in this case there is an alternative.

“The number of images is relatively small, though some were classified as Category A.”

The sheriff placed on the Sex Offenders Register for two years and on a supervision order for the same period.

McGregor will also have to hand over any electronic devices for inspection when asked to do so by the authorities as part of a conduct requirement.

Lawyer Nicola Haston, defending, said her client had “expressed remorse” for his offending and is working with the child abuse rehabilitation organisation Stop It Now.

Last month the court was told McGregor was living with his parents at the family home in the city’s Leith area where police arrived with a search warrant on March 20 last year.

Fiscal depute Anna Chisholm said a police forensic team analysed the external hard drive and found eight inaccessible Category A videos - the most depraved level on the scale.

The confiscated system unit was said to contain Category B and C images of girls aged between four and 12.

The court was told the total amount of images found on the devices was 116 rated as Category B and C and a further 18 videos rated at Category A, B and C.

McGregor admitted to possessing indecent images of children between August 19, 2019 and March 20 last year.

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