Shame as Bellshill man is put on probation

Nov 13 2008 by Graham Fraser, Hamilton Advertiser

Probation for man with 6000 indecent photos of children

A BELLSHILL man who had 6000 pornographic images of children has been put on probation.

Officers raided Paul Quinn’s home in Clyde Drive and found the images on two computers.

The photos were of children aged between 13 and 16 in a state of undress or dressed in a provocative manner.

None of the images pictured the children engaged in sexual activity.

The images were found amongst a quantity of adult pornography at the house where Quinn lives alone.

Divorced Quinn (46) admitted a charge that he took, permitted to take, or made indecent photographs – or pseudo-photographs – of children between June 8, 2006, and June 19, 2007, at his home.

The Crown accepted Quinn’s not guilty plea to an additional charge of possessing indecent photographs, or pseudo-photographs, of children in his house during the same period.

Sentencing Quinn, Sheriff Shiona Waldron deemed the offence as very serious, adding that probation “will help change your behaviour”.

The Sheriff sentenced Quinn to a three-year probation order subject to a number of special conditions which include: attendance at a community sex offenders’ programme, not having any unsupervised contact with any children under the age of 17 years and not having Internet connection in his home or owning a mobile telephone with Internet capabilities.

Furthermore, Quinn is not allowed to live at an address unless it has been approved by his supervising officer.

He was placed on the sex offenders’ register for three years and must also inform his supervising officer if he wishes to travel outside the UK.

As Quinn left Hamilton Sheriff Court, members of the public shouted “beast”.