A Methil man who was twice caught with a haul of horrific child abuse images has been jailed for more than three years.
Archibald Smith first appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court in September where admitted being in possession of 1187 indecent images of babies and young children.
The 31-year-old, a prisoner at HMP Perth, also pled guilty to having 179 images of extreme pornographic content involving adult females and animals.
The offences took place between June and September 2017 at an address on Lawson Street in Kirkcaldy.
The pervert was bailed while sentence was deferred for background reports but police officers arrested him as he left the court building.
Smith was then charged with distributing indecent images between August 7 and 27 from his former address on the High Street in Leven.
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The court was previously told how the sex offender had met a 45-year-old woman online and the pair began regularly exchanging sexual messages and videos on Whatsapp.
But the woman was left horrified after Smith sent her indecent images of children in August and reported him to the police.
Officers seized various devices from him and discovered more horrifying child abuse images.
He was remanded in custody on September 26 before admitting his guilt during a hearing at the same court in November.
Sheriff James Williamson remarked that what started out as apparently “adult, consensual cyber sex soon deteriorated into what has happened before”.
Defence solicitor Martin McGuire yesterday said: “He has found his time in custody fairly difficult. It has had an impact not only on him but also on his direct family.”
Sheriff James Williamson jailed Smith for a total of three years and eight months.
A two year sentence was imposed for distributing the images during the 2018 offence and 20 months for the 2017 possession charges.
The two-year jail term will be backdated to September to reflect the time he has already spent in custody.
Smith was also ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.
