Court / Elderly man avoids prison after possessing more than 2,000 abusive images of children

A SEVENTY four year old man from Lerwick who had thousands of indecent images of children in his possession has escaped a custodial sentence and has instead been put under supervision for three years and told to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Brian Laing appeared for sentencing at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday after having pleaded guilty to two charges last month.

The offences were committed at his home address at Staneyhill between 17 April 2020 and 2 February 2022. 

They only came to light after staff in a local care home, where his wife was residing at the time, was setting up an iPad device he had previously been using.

The court had heard previously that more than 2,000 images were found. Some were classed to be in the worst category, with the majority of the images showing children three to five years old.

Asking for leniency on Wednesday, defence solicitor Tommy Allan urged the court to consider his client’s age, health and the impact on his family, particularly his wife, when sentencing.

Imposing a community payback order with three years of supervision and a requirement to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, Sheriff Ian Cruickshank told Laing that the sentence was an alternative to jail.

The sheriff also approved a request for forfeiture of Laing’s electronic equipment, and also put him on the sex offenders register for three years.