ANDREW SMITH FROM BANCHORY CAUGHT WITH THOUSANDS OF CHILD SEX ABUSE IMAGES AND VIDEOS

In January 2023, a disturbing case emerged involving Andrew Smith, a resident of Banchory, who was found to be in possession of a vast collection of illegal child sexual abuse images and videos. Smith, an oil and gas worker aged 53, was subjected to a police raid at his home, which uncovered more than 3,500 indecent images of children, along with hours of video footage stored across multiple electronic devices.

When officers arrived at Smith’s residence in Banchory, he reportedly admitted to them, saying, “I’ve downloaded stuff I shouldn’t have.” The police investigation revealed that the images depicted children as young as one year old, and the video recordings amounted to nearly 16 hours of illicit content. Smith confessed to having been downloading such material for over 14 years, a revelation that added to the gravity of the case.

During the court proceedings, it was disclosed that a search warrant had been executed at Smith’s Banchory home on November 16, 2021. Smith cooperated with the authorities, allowing them entry into his residence. As he was cautioned, he stated, “I’ve downloaded stuff I shouldn’t have. I’m more into downloading than viewing stuff. I shan’t be doing that anymore, obviously.”

Following this, a systematic search of the premises was carried out. Police recovered a computer tower and a hard drive, which Smith identified as his property and provided the passcode for the computer tower. An initial examination of these devices revealed the presence of indecent images of children, leading to their seizure. Smith further expressed remorse, saying, “Sorry for giving everyone the hassle and it’s a disgusting thing. I don’t even know why I do it.”

The computer tower contained 174 videos featuring male and female children aged between one and 14 years. The total duration of these videos was approximately 15 hours and 50 minutes. In addition, a total of 3,515 images of children aged between three and 14 were recovered from both the computer and the hard drive. Among these images, two were classified as Category A, two as Category B, and the remaining 3,511 as Category C, indicating varying degrees of severity in the content.

Smith faced charges for possessing and permitting the creation of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children, with the offences spanning from August 31, 2007, to November 16, 2021. He also admitted to being in possession of indecent images of children. During the court hearing, Sheriff Andrew Miller emphasized the seriousness of the offences, stating, “You have pleaded guilty to very serious offences. I am constantly reminded that anyone who downloads images of this kind of child sexual abuse contributes to the worldwide demand for these images – that outlines why these offences are so serious.”

Instead of a custodial sentence, Sheriff Miller imposed a community payback order, which includes supervision and 250 hours of unpaid work. Additionally, Smith, a resident of Banchory, was placed on the sex offender’s register for a period of three years, reflecting the gravity of his crimes and the ongoing risk to the community.