Locations
Bellgrove Street, Glasgow, Scotland, G31
Description
A CUMNOCK sex offender caught with child abuse images and secretly-recorded films in toilet cubicles and school changing rooms has avoided jail.
Greg Richard was placed under strict supervision and will have his internet usage and any relationships monitored by the authorities after he admitted possessing indecent photos of youngsters, including a child being seriously sexually assaulted.
The 21-year-old, now of Bellgrove Street, Calton, Glasgow, also pleaded guilty to making voyeuristic images of males sitting in toilet cubicles and 'in school uniform' secretly recorded while they were getting changed.
The camera-shy creep previously hid in the male toilets at Ayr Sheriff Court from the Chronicle’s reporter for more than an hour, after he pleaded guilty last month.
The court heard Richard had since shown a 'high level of remorse'.
Procurator fiscal depute Alasdair Millar previously told the court that police officers attended Richard's then home in Kyle Court, Cumnock on June 1, 2023, with a search warrant.
A number of devices were recovered and amongst the sexually explicit material found, there were 117 unique still images, 114 of which were accessible. They showed males aged from four to 16.
Forty-three moving images were found on both devices, all accessible, with ages ranging from three to 16.
The descriptions of the images, including a child aged between three and five, being subjected to a serious sexual assault by an adult, are too horrific to be reported in detail.
Mr Millar added: "Regarding charge three, police found videos and voyeuristic images.
"Examples include a 55-second video in a changing room, with the camera often covered by a hand, showing various males getting changed into school uniforms.
"Next is a 110-second video in a changing room setting, again showing various males in school uniform getting changed into sportswear, focusing on one male in particular.
"A nine-second video in a classroom setting filmed under a desk shows a male in school uniform grabbing his genitals.
"They found a still image of a male sitting on a toilet using his phone taken from above a neighbouring toilet, his underwear is down below his thighs, it is not possible to determine his age.
"There is another still image in a toilet cubicle again and thereafter a video of the same thing.
"The Crown intend to destroy all of the devices."
When he returned for sentencing this week defence solicitor Christopher Large said first offender Richard "shows a high level of remorse" and self-referred to a support service.
The solicitor said: "He intends to engage in further psychological work with the organisation.
"I'm asking to impose supervision with conduct requirements.
"Mr Richard has already faced a degree of opprobrium in the community, he has lost close friends and even family as a result. He has had to leave the local area due to press coverage.
"He spoke to me of not feeling like leaving the house at all. There is a degree of pillorying of people for these offences.
"He will always carry negative press coverage and disgust at the offences, Google his name, that's what comes up.
"In my submission, the level of disapproval shown by those close to him and the public mitigates the sentence to a degree.
"The quantity of images is relatively low. I think he knows the wrong this harm causes."
Sheriff Mhairi MacTaggart said: "Mr Richard I have already made clear I will step back from custody sentence.
"Moving forward you are going to have to accept the seriousness of this offending. Whatever you and others might think these are not victimless crimes.
"When photographs like this are accessed there is an industry that builds up.
"You have made significant steps forward yourself to address this, you have to continue to do so, and I need to ensure you stay on this path."
He was placed on a community payback order with supervision as an alternative to custody and must take part in the Moving Forward, Making Changes programme, which aims to address such offending.
He was placed on the sex offenders register for two years.
Richard was told he must have no unsupervised contact with any children under 16, and he will have his internet use and any relationships monitored.
He will return to court for a review at a later date, with Sheriff MacTaggart adding: "If there is a positive report I will consider amending the order."