Tuesday 5 November 2024
 9.6°C   SSW Light Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

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.

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.

Space2face

Space2face Shetland

Space2face Shetland is an independent and confidential service which uses Restorative Justice and the arts to bring those harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm into communication. We enable everyone affected by a particular incident to play a part in repairing the harm and finding a positive way forward.

If you would like to reach out to us, please contact us via e-mail info@space2face.org or mobile 07564 832467.

If you would like to know more, visit our website www.space2face.org, or our Facebook page #space2faceshetland.


The project is also currently fundraising to secure office space in Shetland’s brand-new creativity and wellness centre, The Mission. If you’re interested in getting involved, or making a donation, head over to www.space2face.org/how-you-can-help

 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.