A Dunfermline paedophile who shared sick images with other perverts online under the username ‘Ben Dover’ has been jailed for two years.
Grant McAuley was caught with a stash of child abuse material running to almost 23 hours.
It was later found the 24-year-old had shared some of the images on the Kik messenger app.
Distressing material showed children being forced to have sex with dogs, adults and other children.
The victims were believed to be as young as two.
Police vow to track abusers
Detective Inspector Adrian Ure, of Police Scotland’s National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “Grant McAuley’s offending and behaviour was appalling.
“He showed utter contempt for the child victims and the horrific sexual abuse they suffered, in the images and videos he was viewing and sharing.
“In committing these crimes, McAuley believed that his online offending would go undetected.
“However, there is no hiding place and as a result of our investigation he will now rightly face a custodial sentence and the consequences of his actions.
“Any form of child sexual abuse is a serious criminal offence and is a priority for Police Scotland.
“We encourage anyone with concerns about a child at risk of abuse, or a potential victim, to contact police immediately.”
Hours of sick footage
Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard previously police raided McAuley’s then-home address acting on a tip-off and uncovered various devices.
Prosecutor Douglas Thomson said indecent images were found on an iPad, laptop and USB.
Mr Thomson said analysis of the iPad showed Kik messenger was installed on the device and signed in to an account with the screen name ‘Ben Dover’.
The fiscal said there were several chat logs where this username was a participant in chats containing 13 indecent videos of children.
In total officers found 104 images and 122 videos at category A, the most graphic kind, 114 images and 16 videos at category B, and 273 images and 65 videos at category C.
The USB alone was found to contain more than 22 hours of indecent footage.
McAuley, of Hill of Saint Margaret, Dunfermline, previously admitted possessing indecent images of children between March 2017 and July 2022 and distributing them between July 15 and 18 last year.
Sheriff Susan Duff jailed him for two years and placed him on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.
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