A spycam pervert superimposed naked photos of himself onto pictures of local schoolchildren, a court has heard.
Paedophile pensioner William Smith was caught with a hidden stash of nearly 3,000 obscene images and videos.
Police uncovered hidden camera footage showing a pre-teen girl changing into her pyjamas.
In another clip, 72-year-old Smith is seen flashing his penis in his living room, while standing behind a second young girl.
Perth Sheriff Court heard the films, made using a remote camera, were taken at Smith’s home near Forfar.
The young victims were described as “friends of the family.”
Married Smith, who resigned as secretary of a Scottish surgical equipment firm in the mid-90s, had been hoarding the files on his home computers for more than a decade.
Sheriff Paul Brown placed Smith on the Sex Offenders Register and remanded him in custody until sentencing next month.
He told him: “I cannot pass sentence today because you have no previous convictions.
“The question today is whether or not to release you to bail.
“I take the view that this is an extremely serious offence and in light of the likely sentence I will impose, I do not consider that you are a suitable candidate for bail.”
Pseudo-images of known children
Fiscal depute Lora Apostolova said officers raided Smith’s semi-detached home in February last year.
“Police had received confidential information that indecent images of children may have been held at the property,” the prosecutor told the court.
Investigators seized two laptops, a hard drive and a spycam.
The court heard a total of 2,911 images and 62 videos with a running time of two hours were recovered.
Of these, 363 pictures and 41 films clips were at the highest level of obscenity.
Ms Apostolova said: “Among these were pseudo-images, wherein a child (known to Smith) has been superimposed onto the body of other naked children, tied up or involved in sexual activity and posing.
“Further pseudo-images show the child taking a sip from a bottle, where the accused has superimposed his penis in place of the bottle.”
The fiscal depute said the images featured children – mostly girls – as young as babies and include scenes of sadism and bestiality with a dog.
Another spycam clip showed a young girl getting changed.
Smith is seen collecting the camera at the end of the recording.
“Inquiries were made to identify the two children seen in the spycam clips,” said Ms Apostolova.
“It emerged they were both known to the accused as friends of the family.”
Voyeurism charge
Smith pled guilty to taking or permitting to take indecent photos of children at his home between May 2009 and November 2020.
He further admitted engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a pre-teen girl when he exposed himself while standing behind her in 2018.
The court confirmed the girl was unaware of what Smith was doing.
He pled guilty to a third charge of voyeurism by observing the second pre-teen child in a private act, using a remote camera the same month.
Solicitor Brian Bell, defending, said Smith had been downloading the clips then deleting them.
“There was no suggestion that they were being shared with anyone else,” he said.
Mr Bell told the court there was “no longer any risk” of children visiting his home.
“Given the number of images do not make put this at a level where custody would be inevitable.
“But I do accept that this case is aggravated by offences involving children he knew, albeit there was no physical contact.”
Smith will be sentenced next month.
