BELL, APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE BY AGAINST HER MAJESTY'S ADVOCATE [2018] ScotHC HCJAC

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	Scottish High Court of Justiciary Decisons
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Scottish High Court of Justiciary Decisons >> BELL, APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE BY AGAINST HER MAJESTY'S ADVOCATE [2018] ScotHC HCJAC_18 (06 February 2018) URL: http://www.bailii.org/scot/cases/ScotHC/2018/[2018]_HCJAC_18.html Cite as: [2018] ScotHC HCJAC_18, [2018] HCJAC 18, 2018 GWD 7-95, 2018 SCCR 117

Appellant: A Ogg, Sol. Advocate; Capital Defence Lawyers, Edinburgh for Allans Solicitors,

[1] This is a man aged 59, who is in the grip of an uncontrollable obsession with child

[2] The sheriff outlines the massive number of images, both still and moving. He

outlines their categories, A, B and C. He describes the appellant’s total absorption with

downloading and viewing, such that he neglected basic household tasks and did not even

bother going to the toilet, simply defecating where he was . The sheriff ultimately

concluded at paragraph 14 of his report that: “This was about as bad a case of its kind as I

[3] However, we note that in this particular case, a significant sentence of 52 months has

been imposed. Not only will there be opportunities for programmes in custody, but there

will also be a period on licence (which could range from as little as 6 months to as much as

26 months). During that time, the appellant will be the subject of close supervision. Also a

sexual offences prevention order of indefinite length has been imposed. That order is

“The offender is prohibited from using any device capable of accessing the internet

unless it has the capability to retain and display the history of internet use. The

offender must make the device available on request for inspection by a police officer.

The offender is prohibited from deleting such history of internet use. The offender is

prohibited from possessing any device capable of storing digital images unless he

makes it available on request for inspection by a police officer.”

The appellant is also subject to the notification requirements under the Sexual Offences

[4] In these particular circumstances, we have reached the view that the test set out in

section 210A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 has not been met and that

accordingly an extended sentence was unnecessary. We shall therefore allow the appeal,

quash the sentence imposed and substitute therefor a sentence of 52 months dating from the

same date as that imposed by the sheriff.

Scottish High Court of Justiciary Decisons