Shock new statistics show the vast majority of paedophiles who are caught with or distributing child pornography do not go to prison.
The figures from the SNP Government - in response to a question from Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay - reveal that of more than 2,100 cases of people being caught with child pornography since 2010, less than one third resulted in a prison sentence.
This is despite more than three quarters of the public thinking that those convicted of possessing indecent images of children should go to prison – with half believing that sentence should be at least three to five years.
The shock findings will be raised in parliament today, when the Scottish Conservatives lead a debate on the rise in violent crime rates.
Among the paedophiles who avoided jail are Jonathan McGregor, who was caught with over 1000 images of child sexual abuse, and primary school worker Euan Tomney, who was caught with Category A child pornography depicting the sexual abuse of boys between and six and 14 years old.
The Scottish Conservatives have called on the SNP to end their obsession with emptying Scotland’s prisons, listen to the public and ensure paedophiles are given sentences that match the gravity of their crimes.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Community Safety Minister, Russell Findlay MSP, said: “These figures will come as a shock to the vast majority of the public, who probably assume that paedophiles go to prison as a matter of course.
“People will rightly be appalled to discover that the vast majority of those who have committed such vile offences are escaping with just community sentences - which in some SNP-run councils can mean building bird tables and bee hotels.
“This is the very definition of SNP soft-touch justice and the product of their effective ban on certain prison sentences.
“The SNP approach is not just wrong, it’s completely out of step with the public opinion. The Scottish Conservatives would ensure that the public are listened to and that paedophiles are put in prison where they belong.”
Notes
The vast majority of paedophiles convicted of taking, distributing or possessing child porn do not go to prison. In the last ten years, 700 criminals have been imprisoned ‘for taking, distribution, possession etc. indecent photos of children’. This compares to 1,426 criminals being given community sentences, 26 criminals getting a fine and 26 other punishments received by criminals convicted of this crime. In total, this means less than a third of those taking, distributing or possessing child porn go to jail. (Written Parliamentary Question Answer, 10 May 2022).
More than three quarters of the Scottish public think a paedophile convicted of possessing indecent images of children should go to jail. The Scottish Sentencing Council described a situation where a man was caught possessing indecent images of children on his laptop. The Council found ‘just over three-quarters (77%) of respondents thought that this offender should get a custodial sentence’. (Scottish Sentencing Council, 2 September 2019, link).
If they do go to jail, the most common sentence given to those taking, distributing or possessing child porn is just 1-2 years. Over the last ten years, 5 convicts received a sentence of up to 3 months, 37 received a sentence between 3-6 months, 182 received sentences between 6-12 months, 254 received sentences between 1-2 years, 144 received sentences between 2-4 years and 78 received sentences of four years or more. This means the median sentence received was in the 1-2 year bracket. (Written Parliamentary Question Answer, 10 May 2022).
The public believe that such a sentence should be at least 3-5 years. In the Scottish Sentencing Council’s research, 19% of people believe a person convicted of possessing indecent images of children should be sentenced to 3-5 years, with 18% believing the sentence should be 5-10 years, 8% supporting a sentence of 10-15 years and 11% of people supporting a sentence of 15 years or more. (Scottish Sentencing Council, 2 September 2019, link).
Primary school worker Euan Tomney avoided jail for possession of Category A child pornography. Euan Tomney was caught in possession of Category A child pornography, showing adult men engaged in the sexual abuse of boys aged between six and 14-years-old. Despite the severity of the material, and a previous conviction to his name, he was only given a 30 month supervision order and a five year Sexual offences Prevention Order, as well as being places of the Sex Offenders Register for 30 months (Edinburgh Evening News, 10 March 2022, link).
Jonathan McGregor avoided jail despite being found in possession of over 1000 child abuse images. Jonathan McGregor stored over 1000 images of child sexual abuse on his PlayStation gaming console, as well has having also downloading images of youngsters being subjected to sexual acts on his phone. Jonathan McGregor was made subject to social work supervision for two years, and will spend 2 years on the Sex Offenders Register as part of his community sentence. However, he will not spend a day in prison. (The Daily Record, 4 Feb 2022, link)