A Fife man caught with thousands of child abuse images has been placed under supervision for three years.
Logan Chapman, 22, claimed he was “researching” to snare other paedophiles when he was found to have a computer containing the vile pictures.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard Chapman had been using a Tor server to browse the internet anonymously.
Police who were executing a search warrant at his former home address in Cowdenbeath found the grotesque images on devices in a room Chapman shared with a younger boy.
Of the 1,926 still images recovered from the device, 217 were Category A – the worst kind.
He was also found to have one video, which was rated as Category C.
Search terms such as “Lolita” had been used to find the images, which were on a “system unit” – the tower component of a computer.
Sheriff James Williamson sentenced Chapman at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court and followed the “very apt” recommendations of social workers.
He placed Chapman under supervision and on the Sex Offenders Register for three years.
He also banned Chapman from having any communication with children under 16, apart from his younger siblings, without supervision from an adult over 21 years old.
Chapman was also told he cannot possess devices which can access the internet unless they track and store his search history.
He will be required to disclose this history to supervising officers upon request and must make no attempt to delete his digital footprint.
Broke down when confronted
Last month, Fiscal depute Claire Bremner told the court Chapman broke down when confronted in an early morning police search.
She said: “The accused was asked questions about his electronic devices.
“He stated he had a mobile phone and a PC, which were in his bedroom, and provided the PIN codes for these.
“He stated he was attracted to young females and young feminine males.
“He said he used a Tor browser to go into chatrooms to discuss politics.
“He said he was trying to research in order to report images to the relevant authorities.
“He then broke down and said he knew it was wrong and needed help.”
Ms Bremner said 217 images at category A, 327 at category B and 1,218 category C images were inaccessible to the user.
However 164 images at category C were viewable.
Chapman, of Allan Park, Hill of Beath, admitted taking or making indecent images of children at an address in Cowdenbeath between February 1 2018 and June 17 last year.
