Police found thousands of child abuse images on three phones belonging to Airdrie man

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Police found thousands of child abuse images on three mobile phones belonging to an Airdrie man.Officers armed with a search warrant carried out an early morning raid at Ben Cassidy's home in December last year.Cassidy, 39, of Windsor Drive, was placed on the sex offenders' register when he appeared at Airdrie Sheriff Court this week.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android He admitted possessing indecent images of children over a period of nearly eight years.Lauren Cole, prosecuting, said 3195 photos were found on the phones with 658 of those rated Category A, the most depraved.There were also 27 videos featuring children being abused.Cassidy admitted the phones belonged to him but replied, "no comment", to all other police questions.Defence agent Ian Sievrwright told the court: "Clearly this is a very serious matter.

My client is aware of the damage that is caused."He appears as a genuine first offender and has cooperated fully with the prosecution."Sheriff Paul Haran deferred sentence until next month for background reports and a risk assessment.He told Cassidy: "The purpose of the reports is to assist me to identify if there are any alternatives to a custodial sentence."I'll certainly be considering custody standing the nature of this offence." *Don't