A Fife paedophile who was jailed for downloading some of the most horrific images seen by prosecutors is back behind bars thanks to a fellow creep’s online profile picture.
Twisted Aiden Strawn was caged in 2017 after police uncovered a cache of 2,500 obscene files at his home in Cowdenbeath.
The haul included sickening photos of babies being raped by adults.
Police further found Strewn had groomed a 14-year-old girl and tried to meet her for sex.
Now, the 29-year-old has been jailed again after police ran a search through his seedy activity in adult chat rooms.
Strawn appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court and pled guilty to possessing an indecent photo of a child on May 30 last year.
The image of a half-undressed pre-school girl was linked to an acquaintance’s profile picture, the court heard.
Surprise visit
Fiscal depute Lee Corr said Strawn was on the Sex Offenders Register and being monitored by MAPPA (Mult-Agency Public Protection Arrangements) following his 2017 conviction.
“As part of these arrangements, the accused is subject to unannounced visits once a month,” the prosecutor said.
At about 9.50am on May 30 last year, police carried out a routine call at Strawn’s home in Cunlie Street, Anstruther.
Strawn told inspectors he had been chatting to people online using apps such as Kik.
When officers checked the app on his mobile, they noticed a high number of group chats, said Mr Corr.
Chat group names included “Barely 18 babes,” “meet a sissy” and “fat wet moms,” the court heard.
A large volume of sexual images involving adults were shared amongst the groups.
“Because of this, Mr Strawn was told his phone would be seized for analysis,” said Mr Corr.
Investigators later found two copies of the same image, featuring a girl of three-to-five years old in a sexualised pose and naked from the waist down.
Mr Corr said the image was being used as a profile picture by someone in a roleplaying chat group.
When told about their find, Strawn replied: “No bother man, what the f***.”
Told to be extra careful
Solicitor Mike Short, defending, said: “The app itself is not illegal, however one of the users on it had this image as his profile picture.
“Mr Strawn did not download this image.”
Sheriff Ian Anderson told Strawn: “You are someone who needs to be extraordinarily careful with your internet usage.
“You need to be careful not to go anywhere close to anything that could contain child abuse imagery.”
Strawn, listed as a prisoner in HMP Perth, was jailed for 12 months.
He will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for a further 10 years.
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