A highly respected therapist who counselled victims of sexual abuse has been placed on the sex offenders register after being caught with vile child abuse images.
Kieran Docherty, a registered counsellor who advertised himself as a £40 an hour therapist for cases of trauma, sexual abuse and sexual issues had his home in Fife raided last year.
He had served as a Justice of the Peace, hearing criminal cases at Dundee JP Court, prior to his disgrace.
Dundee Sheriff Court was told that police officers had detained him on suspicion of downloading the horrific images.
They searched Docherty’s computer and found more than 100 images, a number of which depicted young boys aged between two and 14, some showing “penetrative sexual contact” with adults.
He immediately accepted that the images were his.
Docherty, 62, of Coach Road in Newburgh, subsequently pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs of children at his home address on July 28 last year.
His solicitor described him as “an intelligent man who has a good understanding of the severity of the offence he has committed”.
He added: “He also has a broader understanding of the impact this has had on other people.
“He had a difficult childhood, but while he accepts that this might explain to some extent the position he has found himself in, he knows that it does not go any way to excusing it.”
Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC said she accepted the offence was at “very much the lower end of the scale” and that he was a first offender.
She imposed a community payback order requiring Docherty to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
The sheriff also ordered him to be subject to supervision for 24 months.
Docherty will remain on the sex offenders register throughout that period.
