Angus IT specialist’s marriage collapsed after police uncovered stash of child abuse files

An IT specialist caught with hundreds of child abuse images has been fined more than £4,000 and ordered to perform unpaid work.

Police found the vile stash when they raided the home David Reid shared with his wife and daughter in Kirkton of Auchterhouse in August 2023.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard how Reid, 61, was said to have been in “denial” when discussing the offences with a social worker.

The creep previously pled guilty to possessing indecent images of children between September 4 2022 and August 3 2023.

The police raid occurred after police received intelligence relating to devices being used inside the address.

Images of children and animals

Fiscal depute Gavin Letford said: “At 8.38am on August 8 2023, police attended and the accused was present with his wife and daughter.

“A systematic search was carried out and a silver HP laptop and a black Dell laptop along with an external hard drive were recovered from the accused’s office.

“Child exploitation and abuse material was recovered.

“The devices were sent for forensic analysis. None of the images were accessible.”

In total, 382 images were recovered with 82 of those being at the highest level of depravity.

Mr Letford said peer-to-peer file sharing software indicative of child abuse material was found on the devices.

The HP laptop contained abuse featuring female children aged between 12 and 15 with kids as young as three featured on the Dell laptop.

Some of the vile material contained children engaging in sex acts with animals.  No data was recovered from the hard drive.

‘A degree of denial’

Reid, now living in a motorhome park in Drymen, near Loch Lomond, pled guilty to the single charge on indictment.

Solicitor John Boyle said Reid, a former self-employed IT expert, was now living off around £100,000 of savings, most of which was from the sale of the family home.

When Mr Boyle stated his client accepted his guilt, Sheriff Mungo Bovey KC, referring to the social work report, replied: “Up to a point he is.

“There seems to be a degree of denial.”

Mr Boyle said: “He has described to the author of the report a breakdown of the marriage, the abuse of alcohol and mental health issues.

“He recognises those difficulties. His savings are provided from a pension plan which he is now receiving.

“The marriage broke down as a result of this offending. The locus is the family home. Parties have now divorced and the home has been sold.”

Reid was placed on a two-year community payback order whereby he must comply with the Moving Forward to Change programme for sex offenders.

He is subject to the Sex Offenders’ Register for the next two years and has 12 months to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

Sheriff Bovey fined Reid a total of £4,175 which will be paid within 28 days. The sentences were imposed as an alternative to custody.

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