ANDREW THOMSON SHOCKS KILBARCHAN WITH CHILD ABUSE IMAGE HOARD AT FAMILY HOME IN RENFREWSHIRE

In a disturbing case that has sent shockwaves through the village of Kilbarchan, Andrew Thomson, aged 37, has admitted to possessing a large and disturbing collection of child abuse images stored at his family residence in Wheatlands Drive. The allegations reveal that Thomson downloaded a total of 1,429 illegal images onto computer equipment that was also used by his mother and brother, raising serious concerns about the safety and innocence of those living in the household.

According to court proceedings, some of the images found on Thomson’s devices depicted extremely young girls as young as two years old being subjected to sexual abuse. The revelation of Thomson’s disturbing interests led to a wrongful suspicion that his brother, John Thomson, might have been involved in downloading illegal content. This suspicion resulted in John Thomson’s arrest, although the court later clarified that he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

The details of the case emerged during a court appearance at Paisley Sheriff Court, where Andrew Thomson pleaded guilty to the charges against him. Prosecutor Keri Marshall, representing the Crown, explained that police officers executed a search warrant at the family home at approximately 8 a.m. on December 8, 2017. During the raid, officers seized an Acer laptop, a hard drive, and a tower computer, all of which contained illegal material.

Marshall stated, “The accused claimed ‘this is nothing to do with my mum,’ and the accused’s brother said, ‘my mum’s innocent and I’m innocent and I’m waiting on a confession from him.’” Both Andrew Thomson and his brother were detained and taken to Greenock police station for questioning.

Further investigation revealed that Thomson had used Google and other search engines extensively on the seized devices. Authorities discovered files stored in a folder named ‘LS Magazine,’ a name associated with child sex abuse images. The court heard that Thomson had been actively downloading and possessing these illegal images between May 5, 2016, and December 8, 2017.

Thomson admitted to two charges: first, downloading child abuse images during the period from May 5, 2016, to November 19, 2017, and second, possessing such images during the same period up until December 8, 2017. His guilty plea was accepted by the court, with defence solicitor Rhona Lynch stating, “He fully appreciates the very serious charges to which he has pleaded guilty.”

Judge Seith Ireland ordered that background reports be prepared before sentencing and placed Thomson on the Sex Offenders’ Register. The case was adjourned until December for sentencing, leaving the community of Kilbarchan to grapple with the gravity of the allegations and the impact on their local area.