An Arbroath man who was found with an enormous stash of more than 20,000 child abuse images has been told a custodial sentence is “extremely likely”.
John Spink’s house was raided by police last year following a tip-off.
Spink, who travelled Europe as a site manager for a leading wind turbine manufacturing firm, had his laptop, iPad and external hard drive seized.
A forensic examination revealed more than 20,000 still images and more than 100 videos of child abuse – some at the most serious level – as well as two twisted videos of a woman having sex with a horse.
Spink – who was previously convicted of an assault that left his victim with damage to his retinas – was warned: “A custodial sentence is extremely likely.”
Spink, 45, of Cairnie Street, Arbroath, pleaded guilty on indictment to charges of downloading indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography depicting bestiality.
The offences were committed between April 2015 and February 2016 at his home address.
Defence solicitor Nicola Brown said: “He lost his employment as a result of this offence coming to light.
“He will not be travelling in Europe from now until his sentencing.
“He has been recently diagnosed with a mental health condition as a result of a severe physical attack on him some ten years ago that has gone undiagnosed until now.”
Sheriff Alastair Brown deferred sentence until next month for social work background reports and warned Spink he faces jail.
He said: “This is quite a serious example of this type of offence in terms of the number of images.
“It appears to me that a custodial disposal is extremely likely.
“You will be subject to the notification requirements of the sexual offences legislation from now.”
Spink was released on bail to await sentencing.
