Court / Supervision and unpaid work for Lerwick man in possession of indecent photos of children

A MAN from Lerwick who previously admitted possessing indecent photographs of children has escaped a jail term.

Danny Conroy, of Arheim, has instead been told to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work as part of a community payback order.

The 45-year-old will also be under supervision for a period of two and half years and be subject to sex offender registration requirements for the same period.

Conroy pleaded guilty to charges of being in possession of indecent photographs of children at his home address between 6 June 2021 and 5 April 2022 at a court hearing last month.

He had also admitted a second charge of allowing these photos to be taken.

The offence came to light when police officers, acting on intelligence, searched the 45-year-old’s home in April last year.

They found 12 accessible category C images – the least severe grading of indecent images – and nearly 12,000 “inaccessible” photos.

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Speaking in mitigation at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday defence solicitor Tommy Allan said there was a very serious background to the case.

He said his client had been the victim of sustained abuse in his youth and had never managed to get over what had been done to him.

Since then, no treatment has helped him, Allan said, adding that because of his background his client could appreciate the effect of his behaviour on his victims.

He said Conroy has been assessed as not being at high risk of reoffending and invited the sheriff to impose an alternative to a custodial sentence.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said his sentencing had to be fair and proportionate and concluded that imposing a community payback order as a direct alternative to jail was sufficient.

A mobile phone, a computer tower and a number of hard drives belonging to Conroy have been forfeited.