Falkirk paedophile caught with 60,000 images of girls aged as young as 10

Joseph Crawford (49) amassed the collection of 60,000 images – of naked and partially clothed little girls as young as 10 – over a period of seven years and kept them on a laptop and four USB sticks which were subsequently seized by officers.

Crawford was alone in his house in Rosebank Avenue during the raid, telling police his wife was working away.

When he was asked if he had been looking at child porn he responded: “I'd rather not say anything until I speak to my lawyer.”

Appearing at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Thursday, Crawford had pled guilty to possessing and downloading child porn at his home between November 2010 and April 30, 2018.

Procurator fiscal Michael Maguire said the 60,000 images were classified as category C on a scale of seriousness.

He added: “They depicted girls between eight and 15, some unclothed or partially-unclothed, posing erotically, with a focus on the genitals.”

Two category B videos were also found, showing girls between 10 and 15 engaging in sexual activity alone, or with other children.

The browser history of Crawford's laptop showed he had searched for and visited websites that had titles which indicated they might contain indecent images of children.

Neil Hay, defence solicitor, said Crawford was “remorseful”, adding: “He indicates his regret and shame. There is no suggestion of distribution.”

Sheriff Christopher Shead said: “Having regard to the nature of the offences, the number of images, and the time period involved, the threshold into custody has been crossed.”

He sent Crawford to prison for 10 months.