REPEAT SEX OFFENDER JAILED FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES
A REPEAT sex offender has been jailed after he made specific searches online to find child sexual abuse images.Loudon Stewart was told no other sentence was appropriate having previously been convicted of almost identical offences.
The 67-year-old was sentenced at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court earlier this week.
He had previously pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images or pseudo-photographs of children at an earlier hearing.
The offences took place at his previous home address on Old Kirk Place in Kilmarnock over a period of more than three years, from October 25, 2020 to December 6, 2023.
The court heard that analysis of electronic devices used by Stewart revealed search terms specifically seeking child sexual abuse images.
Despite a previous community payback order which involved undertaking specific work to overcome this behaviour, Stewart continued to seek child sexual abuse images.
Sheriff Murdoch Mactaggart sentenced Stewart to 21 months in prison, ordered him to be placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years, and imposed a sexual harm prevention order prohibiting communication with children and use of electronic devices for the same period.
Stewart will also be placed at a specified address upon his release, with nine different requirements aimed at preventing re-offending.
The court noted that given Stewart’s age and physical condition, custody was deemed the only appropriate outcome.
