CLIVE HOLROYD FROM DRYMEN JAILED FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES IN STIRLING

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the community of Drymen, Clive Holroyd, a 43-year-old computer programmer and former scout leader, has been sentenced to nine months in prison after being found guilty of possessing and attempting to conceal a significant collection of child abuse images.

Holroyd's arrest was part of a larger international operation known as Operation Falcon, which targeted individuals involved in the distribution and possession of illegal child exploitation material across multiple countries. The investigation led authorities to his residence in Drymen, located in Stirlingshire, where police uncovered disturbing evidence of his activities.

During the proceedings at Stirling Sheriff Court, Holroyd admitted to the charges against him and was subsequently sentenced to nine months behind bars. In addition to his imprisonment, he was ordered to undergo two years of supervised release, a measure intended to monitor his activities and prevent any further offenses.

Holroyd's background as a scout leader, specifically his role in leading the 25th Forth Valley (Balfron) Scouts group, added a layer of concern to the case. However, officials from the Scottish Scout Association clarified that none of Holroyd’s criminal conduct was connected to any official scouting activities or events.

Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Holroyd had used his credit card to download illicit images from the internet. Authorities also discovered that he had installed specialized software designed to conceal his activities, making detection more difficult. Despite these efforts to hide his tracks, police managed to recover more than 100 indecent images of children from his computer.

Sheriff Wyllie Robertson addressed the court, stating, “It’s clear that the images recovered by the police were only those downloaded in the days immediately prior to their arrival. One reason that many more were not recovered was because, no doubt using your expertise in computing, you installed a sophisticated software wiping programme that wiped previous images. You did that because, firstly, you didn’t want your wife and children to discover what you had been doing, and secondly because you didn’t want to get caught by the police.”

The offences were committed over a period from January 2003 to June 2004, which coincided with the time Holroyd was an active member of the Scout movement, although his membership ended that year. The case has raised serious concerns about the safety and oversight of individuals involved in youth organizations, even when their criminal activities are not directly linked to their official roles.