A Dundee creep caught with hundreds of child abuse images phoned the police and told them he had watched “bad things”.
Tommy Craig, 22, freely admitted to officers who later arrested him that he had downloaded the vile material.
A report has now been ordered and the Broughty Ferry Road man will learn his fate next month.
Hundreds of images
Prosecutor Lee Corr told Dundee Sheriff Court: “He contacted Police Scotland to say he was watching child pornography and using it as a coping mechanism.
“He openly stated to officers ‘I have watched bad things – child porn. It isn’t that bad, it’s like teenagers and that. I feel like I belong in a mental institute.’
“He provided a pass code for his phone to be searched.
Several hundred images were found during the search.
Unprompted confession
Craig pled guilty to downloading child abuse images between August 28 and December 23 2022.
According to defence solicitor Mike Short, Craig had been struggling to cope after what was described as a difficult upbringing.
Mr Short said: “He is a young man who knew there was a problem and sought assistance for it.
“He drew it to police attention and did nothing to try and hide it.”
Sheriff Paul Brown deferred sentence for the preparation of social work reports and Craig’s bail was continued.
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