KILMARNOCK MAN JAMES STEWART CAUGHT WITH DISTURBING CHILD IMAGES AHEAD OF SENTENCING

In May 2018, a man from Kilmarnock, identified as James Stewart, is scheduled to appear once again in court to face sentencing after being found in possession of highly disturbing indecent images of children. Stewart, aged 46, admitted to downloading and possessing these images during the period from March to June of the previous year.

The case was heard at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on a Monday, where it was revealed that Stewart was found with a total of 16 still images and eight videos classified as Category A, which is considered the most severe level of such material by police and prosecution standards. These images included explicit depictions involving the sexual abuse of children as young as 10 years old.

Further details disclosed that Stewart, residing on Newlands Drive in Kilmarnock, also possessed 25 images categorized as B and an additional 48 images classified as C. The prosecution, led by Jo Cunningham, explained that Stewart’s arrest followed a police search conducted at his residence in June of the previous year. Interestingly, prior searches of the same property had failed to uncover any evidence of his involvement in such criminal activity.

During the search, officers discovered a Barracuda hard drive concealed within an Amazon box, along with a USB stick and several pen drives. The computer crime unit examined the hard drive and recovered three Category A videos involving children, which had been deleted but could still be retrieved. Stewart was detained at the scene and taken to Kilmarnock Police Station, where he admitted ownership of the devices and confirmed that he had downloaded the images of children. He claimed that only the USB stick contained images and that he had accessed peer-to-peer file-sharing sites.

Following his arrest, Stewart was released on bail but is set to return to court on May 29 for sentencing. As part of the legal proceedings, he has been placed on the sex offenders’ register with immediate effect, reflecting the seriousness of the charges against him.