PRESTWICK SEX OFFENDER JAILED FOR HORRIFIC CHILD ABUSE IMAGES

A sex offender who "felt entitled" to view thousands of disturbing child abuse images stored on his computer has been sentenced to jail. Mark Cashman, aged 51, was detained at Ayr Sheriff Court for possession of horrific images depicting children aged from newborns to 16 years. The court was told he had downloaded and hoarded these pictures over a period stretching from November 2009 to February 2023. Cashman was arrested after police executed a search warrant at his Prestwick home on February 20, 2023. During the search, officers found relevant devices, including a desktop computer and an Amazon Firestick, which contained thousands of illegal images and videos, mostly of female children aged one to 16, with some of boys aged six to 16. Court proceedings revealed the extent of his offenses, including possession of 4,501 still images and over 1,000 moving images, mostly of children in vulnerable age groups. Cashman pleaded guilty to the charges, admitting he had downloaded these images on his devices and had stored them on a separate bedroom computer and Firestick. The investigation was part of a national online child abuse scheme, and police found search histories with child sex abuse terms on his devices. His defense argued he was struggling with a significant addiction to medication and was in a state of intoxication when he accessed the material. Nevertheless, Sheriff Mhari MacTaggart emphasized the gravity of the offense, stating only a custodial sentence was appropriate. Cashman was sentenced to 20 months in prison and will be on the sex offenders register for 10 years, requiring police notification. The court highlighted that these are not victimless crimes, given the severe exploitation involved, and Cashman will serve a further extended sentence after his release. Police Scotland declined to release an image of Cashman.