A Kirkcaldy pervert saved dozens of obscene little one abuse movies in a folder marked “Mega Downloads” in his laptop’s recycling bin.
Kevin Bell claimed he didn’t know the deleted recordsdata had been nonetheless saved on his exhausting drive.
The 32-year-old informed Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court docket he was despatched the fabric by a stranger on an web chat app, however instantly deleted them when he realised what they had been.
The courtroom heard that almost two years after the recordsdata had been despatched to Bell, police laptop consultants discovered them within the machine’s trash folder.
After a day-long trial, jurors discovered Bell responsible of downloading and possessing the pictures.
After delivering their verdict, he jury was informed Bell was beforehand on the Intercourse Offenders Register for indecently speaking with a toddler.
Mega downloads
The courtroom heard that police cyber-experts had been unable to hold out a full forensic evaluation of Bell’s laptop on account of a defective exhausting drive.
Nonetheless, an preliminary “triage” of the machine by law enforcement officials trying to determine unlawful materials discovered that he had 41 movies, together with 18 within the highest class A.
Skilled witness Tom Giles, a pc forensic analyst with Police Scotland, mentioned the movies had been inside a subfolder titled “Mega Downloads”.
He mentioned: “This was a folder recognized within the recycling bin.
“It’s a location the place, when a file is deleted it goes to the recycling bin.
“However it capabilities like every other folder – objects might be moved, however might be restored by the person.
“This course of requires a pc to return to the place the file was earlier than.”
Bell’s CV present in identical folder
He mentioned he was unable to find out when the file have been moved again to the pc’s desktop at any level as this is able to have required a full forensic evaluation.
Nonetheless among the many 13 recordsdata within the recycling bin was a folder containing a CV with the identify and particulars of Bell indicating he was the person of the pc.
There have been 18 class A movies, 14 class B and 9 at class C. The movies featured ladies between the ages of three and 12.
Giving proof in his personal defence, Bell mentioned he had been despatched the “vile” photographs whereas utilizing Random Chat – an app that permits customers to speak by way of textual content with strangers around the globe.
He mentioned: “I used to be on a chat program, speaking to random folks.
“We had been speaking about basic stuff – we had been chatting about what it was like in Scotland and asking what it was like in America, or wherever they had been from.
“He by no means gave me his identify, and I don’t know the place he was from in India.
Instantly deleted little one abuse movies
“He despatched a hyperlink to me and informed me to take a look at it.
Requested by solicitor, Kerr Sneddon if he had requested for photographs to be despatched, he replied: “I didn’t, no”.
Requested if the recordsdata had sexually suggestive names, Bell mentioned they didn’t.
“I attempted to open it on my telephone. My telephone wasn’t opening it so I despatched it to my PC.”
He mentioned he opened a single video earlier than realising it’s “vile” content material.
He mentioned: “I removed it. I simply deleted it.
“I don’t know a lot about computer systems in any respect, my PC was for gaming.
“I believed they had been gone utterly off my PC.”
Random Chat app deleted on account of security
He denied figuring out that he might have entry the file from the computer systems recycling bin.
He mentioned he had deleted the folder containing photographs inside one minute after which had deleted the chat app “as a result of it wasn’t protected”.
Bell insisted that the chat had not been sexual previous to being despatched a hyperlink to obtain the movies.
Fiscal depute Lora Apostalova invited the jury to search out him responsible as Bell was “savvy” sufficient about computer systems to despatched the file from his telephone to his PC and was “decided” to open the hyperlink by doing so.
She mentioned the recordsdata had been inside a folder created by the person, not one created by the pc.
Conviction
The jury of seven males and eight girls unanimously convicted Bell, of Napier Avenue, Kirkcaldy, of downloading and possession little one abuse photographs at his dwelling handle between September 2019 and March 2021.
Following conviction, the courtroom heard that Bell was positioned on the intercourse offenders’ register for a 12 months in 2018 after speaking indecently with a toddler.
Sentence was deferred for studies and Bell was launched on bail.
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