BLAIR HOULISTON

A man named Blair Houliston, from Edinburgh, was caught with hundreds of child abuse images and videos on his phone but narrowly avoided a jail sentence.

The material included distressing footage showing children as young as two years old being bound, gagged, and sexually abused by adults.

Houliston, 27, had used messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Kick Messenger to communicate with paedophiles in the United States, who sent him the abusive content.

He admitted during court proceedings that he was interested in children, rape, and incest, and was found with numerous images and movies when police raided his home in 2018.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that Houliston was arrested after his new boyfriend discovered disturbing material on his mobile phone and reported it to the authorities.

During his court appearance earlier this year, Houliston admitted to possessing indecent images of children and returned to the dock for sentencing.

Sheriff John Mundy commented, "This behaviour is quite disgraceful, and I hope you have gained some insight into how this affects children.

However, I am treating you as a first offender, and the report recommends a community payback order.

I must warn you, I was considering a custodial sentence, and if you do not comply with the community order, it may not be short." As a result, Houliston, from Greendykes, Edinburgh, was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for two years and subject to a supervision order for the same period, as an alternative to imprisonment.

He will also be required to undergo participation in the Moving Forward Making Changes programme, a court-imposed conduct requirement.

Prior to sentencing, it was disclosed that Houliston communicated with paedophiles from Texas through online chats that were highly sexual.

One of his contacts asked, "What are you into, sir?" to which Houliston reportedly replied, "kids, rape, and incest." He then received a significant number of child abuse videos and images via online apps.

Prosecutor Rosie Cook stated that Houliston met his new partner through a dating app in March 2018 and invited the man to his home later that month.

The partner observed troubling content on Houliston’s phone and contacted police.

Officers found hundreds of images, including those depicting two-year-old children being abused, stored on a computer program called Mega, which is similar to Dropbox.

Defence solicitor Kevin Connor explained that his client was a first-time offender and had suffered from ADHD since childhood.

He emphasized that Houliston did not use his diagnosis as an excuse for his actions.

Mr.

Connor also noted that the number of images shared was relatively small and that Houliston had been attending the Stop It Now group since pleading guilty.

Houliston pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children taken at his home between January 21, 2015, and April 4, 2018, as well as distributing such images during the same period from January 21, 2015, to January 21, 2018.