JAMES BRYSON'S SHOCKING CRIMES IN ALEXANDRIA AND CLYDEBANK REVEALED

In December 2015, James Bryson, a man with a deeply troubling criminal history, was found to be in possession of nearly 300 indecent images of children on his mobile device. Bryson, who resides on Burns Street in Alexandria, was apprehended by police during a routine inspection prompted by his prior convictions and monitoring requirements. The authorities' intervention led to the discovery of these illicit images, which have now brought him back into the criminal justice spotlight.

James Bryson, aged 38 at the time, appeared before Dumbarton Sheriff Court to face charges related to the possession and creation of indecent photographs of minors. He pleaded guilty to charges that involved taking, permitting to be taken, or making such images of children between June 30 of the previous year and March 4 of the current year. The court was also informed that Bryson had been living with his girlfriend in Clydebank for several days each week between November 1, 2013, and May 1, 2015, without notifying authorities, despite being under strict conditions that mandated him to inform officials of his whereabouts at all times.

It was emphasized during the hearing that Bryson, as a registered sex offender, was under constant surveillance by various agencies following his initial imprisonment in 2005 for a sex attack on a five-year-old girl. His criminal record also includes a 2010 conviction for failing to inform authorities of his location, which further underscored his ongoing monitoring status.

On March 4, 2015, police officers arrived at Bryson’s residence in Alexandria to conduct a risk assessment. During this visit, they requested to examine his mobile phone. An inspection of his device revealed an explicit web address in the search history, raising suspicions. Bryson claimed ignorance about how the link appeared on his phone. The officers completed their initial risk assessment and returned to Clydebank Police Office to investigate the link further. Their inquiries confirmed that the web address contained indecent images of children, prompting them to revisit his address.

The following day, on March 5, police encountered Bryson while he was out walking. They accompanied him back to his home and obtained his consent to analyze his phone further. Despite the evidence, Bryson’s home search on May 1, conducted with a warrant, yielded no immediate findings. However, he was detained and taken to Clydebank Police Station for further questioning. During interviews, Bryson’s partner, who had been in a relationship with him since 2013, stated she was unaware of his criminal past. She also revealed that Bryson had stayed with her for several days each week, which potentially breached his notification conditions.

Defense lawyer Melvin Wise acknowledged Bryson’s awareness of his need for help and admitted that a custodial sentence was inevitable given the severity of his offenses. Sheriff William Gallacher expressed his concern about the nature of the crimes, emphasizing that the possession and creation of child abuse images are not isolated acts but cause significant harm to children. The court deferred sentencing until January 13, and Bryson was remanded in custody pending the hearing.

In a related case from February 2010, Bryson, then 33, was involved in a disturbing incident where he deceived a mother of two on the social networking site Bebo. Under the alias Jamie Davie, he managed to win her trust shortly after being released from prison for molesting a five-year-old girl. The woman recounted her horror at discovering Bryson’s true identity after he had moved in with her and her children. She described her relief that her family had narrowly escaped harm, expressing anger that Bryson was able to deceive everyone and suggesting that he should never have been released from prison.

Further back, in July 2008, Bryson’s own family publicly disowned him following his release from prison. His relatives in Clydebank, including his stepmother Janet and his younger brother Gary, made it clear they wanted nothing to do with him. Janet, who is married to Bryson’s father Jim, stated that Bryson was living alone in Clydebank and that her family did not support him. She emphasized that her priority was her own family and her young grandchild, who was four years old at the time. The family’s disapproval was compounded by the fact that Bryson was living in a flat arranged by social services, despite his history of sexual offenses.

Bryson’s criminal record includes charges of raping a five-year-old girl between January and June 2004. Although the rape charge was dropped in 2005 when he admitted to other sexual offenses, he was initially sentenced to five years in prison and served 40 months before being released last week. His release was supposed to be under strict supervision until 2013, but recent events have cast doubt on the effectiveness of such measures. The victim’s mother, who is in her twenties, expressed her distress and frustration, revealing that social workers had warned her about Bryson’s new residence in Clydebank, just minutes from her home in Glasgow. She described her fears of encountering him during her shopping trips and her anger at the system that allowed him to live so close.

Social services and local authorities stated that they consider the impact on victims when arranging offender releases. However, the ongoing presence of Bryson in Clydebank continues to cause concern among residents and victims’ families, highlighting the ongoing challenges in managing high-risk offenders within communities.