ROSS MORRISON FROM LERWICK SHEETLAND SENTENCED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES

In a case that has shocked the community of Lerwick, located in the Shetland Islands, Ross Morrison has been sentenced to prison after a conviction related to the possession of a vast collection of indecent images and videos of children. Morrison, a 46-year-old resident of Burgh Road in Lerwick, pleaded guilty to charges of taking or permitting the taking of these illicit images at his residence between December 3, 2016, and January 16, 2018.

During the court proceedings at Lerwick Sheriff Court, it was revealed that the authorities had recovered over 21,000 images classified as inaccessible, meaning they had been deleted but could still be recovered from Morrison’s laptop. These images were categorized into three classifications: A, B, and C, with Category A being the most severe in terms of content. The majority of the images and videos found were in Category C, which is considered less serious, with over 21,000 inaccessible images and nearly 300 inaccessible videos in this category. Notably, there were no accessible images or videos in Categories A or B, but the court did find 15 inaccessible images and three videos in Category A, indicating the presence of the most serious material.

Prosecutor Duncan Mackenzie informed the court that all the images and videos contained young girls, some as young as five years old. It was also disclosed that Morrison had frequented a Russian website dedicated to sharing such illicit content, raising further concerns about his involvement in the online child exploitation community.

During the hearing, defense solicitor Tommy Allan addressed the court, emphasizing Morrison’s remorse and his difficulty in coping with the fact that he had committed such offenses. Allan stated that Morrison was unable to explain how he had become involved in viewing these images and videos. While acknowledging the gravity of the crime, Allan pointed out that most of the material was classified as Category C, which is considered less severe.

However, Sheriff Ian Cruickshank expressed his concern about the sheer volume of images and videos Morrison had viewed, questioning how someone could do so without a clear purpose. The sheriff also highlighted that sentencing guidelines require the classification of the images to be taken into account. Ultimately, Sheriff Cruickshank determined that Morrison’s actions warranted a custodial sentence, and he sentenced him to a total of 44 months in prison. This sentence included an initial 20-month term of imprisonment, followed by a 24-month period on license. Additionally, Morrison was placed on the sex offenders register, reflecting the seriousness of his crimes.

In 2019, Morrison challenged his sentence through an appeal. The case, Ross Morrison v. Her Majesty’s Advocate [2019] HCJAC 14, involved a note of appeal against the original sentence. On October 24, 2018, the Lerwick Sheriff Court had initially imposed a 20-month sentence, but this was later quashed and replaced with a reduced sentence of 15 months, discounted to 10 months to account for Morrison’s early guilty plea. This adjustment was part of the legal process recognizing Morrison’s cooperation with authorities and his acknowledgment of guilt.