Edinburgh crime: Child sex offender pleads for bail so he can say goodbye to his dying mother

Anthony Ward was found to have downloaded more than 85,000 images and videos of children being raped and tortured when police raided his Edinburgh home last year. He was caught with images depicting children being urinated on and of a naked “female toddler” being hung upside down by her feet and slapped. 

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the total running time of the videos showing the abuse of youngsters found on several devices came to 21 hours and 13 minutes.

Anthony Ward downloaded 85.000 images and videos | Alex Lawrie

And during a subsequent police investigation it also emerged Ward, 66, had been contacting children on an online video website where he had been forcing them to perform solo sex acts.

Lawyer Christopher McFarlane, defending, said his client’s “entrenched deviancy” had seen him jailed 10 years ago for a similar offence and he had recently been “alienated by his family”.

Mr McFarlane said Ward was the full time career for his 94 year old mother who suffered from dementia and arthritis.

The solicitor said: “I am asking for bail to be continued so that Mr Ward can get his affairs in order.  Given his mother’s age and frailty Mr Ward is under no illusion that it is very likely his mother will pass away while he is in a custodial environment and that causes him great shame.

“If bail is continued, and if the the court is minded to impose a custodial sentence, it will give him time to say his goodbyes.”

But Sheriff Charles Walls denied the plea, and said: “In view of the gravity of these charges as narrated there is a likelihood of a custodial sentence.  I am not prepared to admit you to bail and you will be remanded in custody.”  

Ward, from the Capital’s Calder area, was placed on the sex offenders register on an interim basis and full sentence was deferred to later this month.

During Thursday’s hearing, the court was told police received intelligence indecent images were being accessed at Ward’s home and raided the property at around 7.25am on March 17 last year.

Prosecutor Gillian Koren said 20 USB sticks, three hard drives and a laptop were seized by officers and indecent images of children were found on all the devices.

Ms Koren said a total of 85,763 images and videos had been found with 2,957 rated by forensic investigators at Category A - the most serious end of the spectrum.

The fiscal told the court the children involved were aged between four and 15-years-old and the file names included “baby rape - hardcore” and “no limits - child”.

Police also found chat logs on the Telegram messaging service that showed Ward had been in contact with children online and had been forcing them to perform sex acts on themselves.

Ward pleaded guilty to a charge of taking, or allowing to be taken, images of children at his home address between November 1, 2020 and March 17 last year. He also admitted to two offences of directing sexual communication towards children and instructing them to perform sex acts, all between June 14 and December 1, 2011.