WILLIAM KERR FROM KINGHORN SENTENCED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES IN ABERDEEN

A man named William Kerr, hailing from Kinghorn, has been found guilty of possessing a significant collection of indecent images of children, a case that has garnered considerable attention in the local community and beyond. The court proceedings revealed that Kerr was caught with a total of 873 photographs and 327 videos stored across multiple devices, including a laptop, an external hard drive, and a USB stick.

These discoveries came to light after Grampian Police received information from another law enforcement agency, which included Kerr’s personal email address. This intelligence led to an investigation that ultimately uncovered the disturbing material on Kerr’s devices. The 41-year-old man, who resides at 3 Anderson Court in Fraserburgh, admitted to possessing these indecent images, which included both photographs and pseudo-photographs of children. He also pleaded guilty to the charges of allowing such images to be taken or downloaded.

The offences occurred over a period spanning from July 17, 2009, to July 7, 2011, at an address located in Fraser Court, Aberdeen. During the sentencing hearing, the Crown’s representative, fiscal depute Anne Macdonald, provided details about the nature of the material. She explained that the collection comprised 327 indecent videos and 873 photographs, most of which were brief, lasting only seconds, with some extending to a few minutes. Among these, six videos depicted sexual activity involving children and adults, predominantly boys aged between three months and ten years.

Using a severity scale for the images, Miss Macdonald noted that six of the videos were classified as the most serious, while 364 were deemed to be of the lowest level of severity. The court was also informed about Kerr’s psychological state; his defense lawyer, Michael Burnett, explained that Kerr had been a victim of sexual abuse during his own childhood. Kerr’s actions, including the accumulation of this material, were described as an attempt to understand and process his past trauma. His lawyer emphasized that Kerr was not seeking out particular individuals but was instead trying to find some form of peace through examining the images.

In sentencing, Sheriff Christopher Shead described the images as “vile,” but took into account the unusual circumstances surrounding Kerr’s case. Recognizing that Kerr was not a typical offender, the sheriff decided against imprisonment. Instead, he imposed a community payback order, which requires Kerr to be under supervision for three years. As part of this order, Kerr must participate in a joint sex offenders program for two years, complete 270 hours of unpaid work within a year, and register as a sex offender for the duration of the order.