COLIN GREEN FROM GALASHIELS JAILED FOR HORRIFIC CHILD ABUSE IMAGE OFFENSES

In a disturbing case that has shocked the community of Galashiels, Colin Green, a 52-year-old man, has been sentenced to a prison term after being found in possession of an alarming number of child abuse images and videos. The court proceedings revealed that Green had accumulated a total of 56,165 still images and 84 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children over a period spanning from July 2010 to July 2014.

During the sentencing, Sheriff Peter Braid described the severity of Green’s offenses, which included graphic content showing children aged between four and 15 being raped. The court was informed that approximately 1,300 of the still images and half of the videos involved such heinous acts. The evidence was collected during a police raid on Green’s residence in Galashiels, located within the council area of Selkirkshire, last July. The authorities seized five electronic devices, which forensic experts later examined to recover the illicit material.

Green’s arrest and subsequent guilty plea marked a significant development in the case. The court heard that Green had an apparent addiction to pornography, which had progressively escalated into viewing increasingly disturbing content involving minors. The forensic analysis confirmed the presence of these images and videos, which depicted some of the most egregious forms of child exploitation. The court was told that the images included children as young as four being raped, with the content being shared and stored across multiple devices.

In addition to the criminal charges related to child abuse images, Green’s criminal history includes a racially motivated incident from 2002. At that time, he appeared in court for participating in a racially aggravated protest following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Green, who was employed as a graphic designer, had spray-painted a message on his Mazda car window that read, “Support the USA in its hour of need – kill an Arab today.” He later pleaded guilty to acting in a racially aggravated manner, explaining that he believed his actions were a gesture of support for America, not an act of racism. The court had deferred sentencing at that time, allowing Green a period of six months to demonstrate good behavior.

Most recently, Green appeared before Edinburgh Sheriff Court, where he admitted to possessing the illicit images and videos. His solicitor, Edward Hulme, stated that Green had engaged with the 'Stop it Now' program, which aims to combat child sex abuse, as part of his efforts to address his behavior. The court scheduled his sentencing for July 16, and Sheriff Braid sentenced Green to one year and eight months in prison. Additionally, Green was ordered to be placed on the sex offender register for ten years, reflecting the gravity of his crimes and the potential risk posed to the community of Galashiels and beyond.