Search results for Moray

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Mark Whitton jailed for 40 months over vast child abuse material haul

Mark Whitton, a 56-year-old from Land Street in Elgin, Moray, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison after police found more than 40,000 indecent images of children and over 12 days’ worth of child abuse videos at his home.

Whitton appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court on Tuesday 18 August, where Sheriff Ian Cruickshank imposed the sentence (discounted for a guilty plea and backdated to July). He was also made subject to a seven-year sexual harm prevention order restricting his internet access and contact with children, and will remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Officers executed a search warrant at his address in October 2025. Whitton told them: “everything is over for me.” He admitted having three hard drives containing images of children. In total, investigators recovered 41,077 images of child sexual abuse and 2,316 videos whose combined runtime exceeded 302 hours (more than 12 days). Material included infants as young as one year old.

A further 418 images and 985 videos of extreme pornography were found, with a total runtime of more than 511 hours (over 21 days). Much of this material depicted bestiality.

Fiscal depute Emily Hood told the court that a laptop belonging to Whitton contained 152 inaccessible images, including AI-generated pictures of boys and girls aged between one and 14. The images showed children engaged in sexual activity with adults and other children, graded as 24 Category A (the most serious), 23 Category B and 105 Category C.

Analysis of the hard drives revealed thousands more images and videos across Categories A, B and C, including accessible and inaccessible files of children aged from three to 14. One hard drive alone held more than 16,000 inaccessible images and hundreds of videos of child abuse, plus extreme pornography involving animals. Another contained nearly 1,000 accessible videos of children “engaging in sexual posing,” while a third held over 19,000 accessible images and more than 1,000 videos of child sexual abuse material, again alongside bestiality content. Ms Hood described some of the extreme material as “of women engaging activity with animals, mostly dogs.”

Whitton is now listed on our sex offenders database.

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A disgraced former Moray councillor, convicted of child pornography offenses in 2018, was jailed last year for further crimes.

Sean Morton, Labour councillor for Fochabers Lhanbryde from 2012 to 2017, received a 16-month sentence in January 2025, per a Daily Record investigation.

Glasgow Sheriff Court noted he pleaded guilty to possessing indecent child photographs, with the sentence backdated to May 2024.

This followed his 2018 conviction at Elgin Sheriff Court for indecent images of four girls aged 10-15, plus three images of bestiality involving a dog in an iTunes backup.

Morton initially pleaded not guilty, vowing on social media to clear his name, but changed his plea after police revealed more evidence. He received community service and placement on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Charged on June 10, 2016, after a warrant at his Lhanbryde home, he was suspended by Labour only in January 2017. He ran as an independent in May 2017 elections but finished second-last with under 300 votes.

In a post-sentencing statement, Morton said: “In November 2017, well over a year after this investigation began, I was told how I had come into possession of seven indecent images. These were sent to me anonymously. I realised I hadn’t been as careful about who I spoke to online as I would be in my everyday life. I felt revulsion at what had happened and immediately felt I must accept my guilt. I wish with all my heart the sender never sent the images.”

Morton's history prompted Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy to step down as Holyrood education spokesperson in December over their longstanding friendship.

New revelations have sparked renewed calls for Duncan-Glancy to resign as MSP. After his autumn 2025 release, the offender reportedly dined with her to celebrate her birthday.

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A man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison following serious sexual and violent offences against three women.

Gerald Hever, 51, was jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, 1 September, 2025.

The offences took place between 1996 and 2020 in Inverness-shire and Moray.  

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register and given a 20-year non harassment order.

Detective Constable Lauren Barron said:

“Hever carried out appalling acts of sexual and violent abuse against the three women.

“Following a complex investigation, he has been brought to justice and this sentence reflects the seriousness of his offending.

“We remain committed to investigating all reports of sexual crime, regardless of when it happened. We will do everything in power to support victims and all reports are treated sensitively.”

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A British Army sapper from Moray has admitted attempting to communicate indecently with a child.

Alex Tunnicliffe admitted two sexual offences, which saw him placed on the sex offenders register.

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A man who claimed he accidentally accessed indecent images despite a search history to the contrary has been told he “destroyed” children’s lives for “entertainment”.

Adam Betteridge claimed he clicked a link sent to his mobile by accident, but investigators also found deleted searches including terms such as “pedo”, “youngest” and “hairless”.

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A pensioner who made explicit sexual remarks to what he believed was a 14-year-old girl was snared by an adult from a paedophile hunter group who was posing as a teenager.

Inverness Sheriff Court was told that Duncan Moir, from Buckie, contacted the 'girl' calling herself 'Molly' on December 17, 2023.

The 72-year-old told the ‘girl’ his age and was informed that his contact was 14.

Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald that Moir, of Bede Road, called the girl “baby, gorgeous, my dear girl, my beautiful gorgeous girl”.

Mrs Gair went on: "He asked her if she had a boyfriend and asked her for photographs of herself.

“The conversation became more sexualised."

The court heard that Moir said the girl made him "horny", asked about her private parts and what sex acts she knew about.

He also told her what acts he would like her to do to him, adding that he would keep her safe.

Moir also told her: "By the way, don’t tell anyone what I have been talking about or I would be in trouble."

At that stage, the decoy from online child abuse activist group 'Elite' informed another similar group in Scotland called 'Protecting Kids Scotland'.

They identified from screenshots where Moir lived and confronted him while live-streaming it online.

Moir admitted sexually communicating with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl between December 17, 2023, and March 16 last year.

Sentence was deferred until June 3 for a background report and an assessment for the sex offender's rehabilitation programme, 'Moving Forward to Change.'

Moir was also immediately placed on the Sex Offender's Register and his bail was continued.

However, Sheriff Macdonald warned him “all sentencing options are open to the court”.

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A man has been found guilty of raping a woman who agreed to share his bed because she “trusted him”.

Neil Kennedy’s victim said she was given alcohol and crack cocaine before he forced himself on her at his then-home in Keith.

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AN Elgin mum who helped bring her sons rapist to justice says her trust in humanity has been broken.

John Jessiman Barclay (63), a former Keith shop owner and ex social care worker with Moray Council, was jailed for seven years and two months at the High Court in Edinburgh on April 29 after he pled guilty to sexual offence charges relating to three young men.

That included raping a man with a mental disorder.

The man, who was in his 20s at the time, was born with frontal lobe brain damage. He also has hearing loss , ADHD and learning difficulties which make living independently impossible.

His mum, speaking anonymously with The Northern Scot, says that Barclays actions have devastated her family and left her wondering if she can ever trust anyone again.

I feel like he groomed me as well because I trusted him, she said.

My head has just been all over the place. Its been devastating.

My son is so wary of speaking to other people now.

Hes not been sleeping. Hes had to get more medication to help him sleep. Its changed him.

Even though he is my first born and hes in his 30s now, hes always going to need mum.

Hes a grown man but in his head he isnt a grown man.

Barclay owned and managed the now-shut Aladdins Cave shop in Keith which stocked a variety of handmade gifts.

He was involved in various disability groups in the region and volunteered in the community.

He was also previously employed by Moray Council as a social care worker and a community care officer.

But a council spokesperson confirmed that Barclays employment with the local authority ended in 2010.

They said: Moray Council can confirm that the individual concerned has not been employed by the council since 2010."

It was his background, however, that led many to believe that he was a good Samaritan who could be trusted.

He was opening his shop in Keith and we met him through mutual friends, his victims heartbroken mum said.

He was involved in disability groups and so is my son and he asked if my son would like to help him out with the shop.

My son was keen and so was I because it would get him out and about and things like that.

Barclay, unknown to the vulnerable mans mum, began sending indecent messages between January 2019 and April 2021.

And, according to court documents, between January 2019 and March 2020, Barclay, while acting with another male, sexually assaulted the young man by telling him to remove his clothing, touching him, watching him with the other man before raping him orally to his injury.

The abuse may have continued if it wasnt for the mans mum.

He had been asked to help out at the shop again and I thought that was fine, she said.

Before he left there was this Tesco carrier bag and I said to him to give it to me because he didnt need it and he sort of flipped a little bit.

I asked whats going on? Whats in the bag?

There was a condom in the bag. I asked to see his phone at that point and I had a look through the phone and there were disgusting messages from that man to him.

He was asking him to go and have sex and to have sex with somebody in the shop, asking my son if he had washed himself.

It absolutely flipped our lives upside down.

I got in touch with the police but my son was terrified that he was going to go to prison. I had to keep telling him that it wasnt his fault.

If I hadnt found it that day, then it would have carried on because he would have gone away to the shop again that day.

The mans mum had to source three separate doctors reports to prove that he did not have the mental capacity to give consent.

And after years of waiting for justice, Barclay was sentenced to over seven years in prison, backdated from February 2024, last month.

We have waited for years for this, Barclays victims mum, who went to his trial in person, added.

I wouldnt wish this on any family. Ive had to keep the family calm and away so that the justice system can do its work so this is a relief.

He thought that person was his friend but they were doing the most horrific things to him. Thats what sickens me.

Im just glad that he is locked up but Ill never trust anybody again.

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A Moray businessman has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two women following a trial at Inverness Sheriff Court.

Michael Ramsay had denied charges that he sexually assaulted one woman by penetrating her with his fingers and sex toys and another by trying to remove her clothes and kiss her.

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Paedophile hunters posed as delivery drivers in order to get a man who was communicating indecently with children to come to his front door.

David Penney, 56, thought he was chatting to girls as young as 13 but was actually speaking to adult volunteers working with online groups who expose offenders.

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A man who cupped a council workers breasts and then told her they needed lifted up has been ordered to wear an electronic tag for six months.

David Woodcock appeared for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court after the 56-year-old was found guilty of the sexual assault after a trial.

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A mum has been placed on the sex offender’s register after she encouraged a group of children to carry out sexual dares in her home.

Kirstyann Kavanagh bought cider and wine for the Buckie youngsters and then instructed some of them to kiss and touch each other sexually, Elgin Sheriff Court was told.

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A man who was snared by paedophile hunters held a knife to his chest during a doorstep confrontation broadcast live on Facebook.

In footage that has been viewed more than 20,000 times, Lossiemouth sex offender George Innes clutches a kitchen knife to his body and can be heard saying “my life is not worth living”.

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