Locations
Greenwood Quadrant, Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, G81
Description
A FORMER youth football child protection officer who downloaded child abuse images has been given more unpaid work in the community.
Ryan Cullen, of Greenwood Quadrant in Linnvale, was spared a prison sentence in 2019 after he admitted two charges relating to the creation and possession of indecent images of children between June 2015 and November 2018.
He was put on a three-year community payback order (CPO) with supervision by social workers, and 250 hours of unpaid work in the community.
He was put on the sex offenders register for three years the same length of time he was accessing abusive pictures and videos.
But on August 27, Dumbarton Sheriff Court was told that 27-year-old Cullen had breached the conditions of his community-based sentence when he took on work without informing his supervising officers.
Defence solicitor Brian McGuire said his client was the last person I would have expected to come back with a breach.
But the court heard Cullens mother had asked her son to assist with some work as a favour.
He was paid, but gave the cash back.
He has been a worker all his days, so the opportunity to assist was quite welcome, said Mr McGuire.
He didnt think he was doing anything untoward.
The anxiety as a result of this has been apparent to me. His mother lost her employment as a result of this, no doubt as a result of the adverse publicity.
The solicitor urged Sheriff William Gallacher not to revoke the existing CPO and to spare Cullen a jail sentence.
Sheriff Gallacher said: I accept what I hear. It ought not to have happened.
The notion anyone subject to any order can never contribute to the community is wrong, and all orders by the court are to return people to the community where that can be safely done.
He allowed the CPO to continue, but added 75 more hours of unpaid work, to be completed within six months.
Before undertaking any voluntary or paid work, Cullen must discuss it with his supervising officer.
The sheriff added: I dont expect to see you again.
In 2019, the Post reported that the Scottish Youth Football Association (SYFA) was looking into the case because of Cullens past role with the Dunbartonshire Youth Football Development League (DYFDL).