Ross Easton, a young father and convicted paedophile, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for possessing child abuse photos. Authorities discovered that Ross Easton had been exchanging intimate photographs with a minor.
This week, Hamilton Sheriff Court was informed that 4,261 child abuse images and films were discovered on a phone and tablet owned by him.
Ross Easton, 27, confessed to downloading indecent photos at his residence on Kilfinan Place, Shotts, and at various other locations, as well as sharing an image with another paedophile.
He also confessed to persuading a girl to do sexual actions and transmit photos and videos to him, while he sent her explicit images of himself.
The court was informed that Ross Easton initially commenced soliciting photographs from the child in 2020, and this behaviour persisted for three years.
He was only caught when police received information that he was downloading child abuse material. They went to his home in September 2023 and seized several devices.
Rebecca Clark, prosecuting, said that at this time Ross Easton and his partner had a child with another on the way.
The graphic material found on his phone and tablet included 2272 videos, with more than half of these in the most depraved category including baby rape, child torture and hurtcore.
In some of the images the abuse victims were babies and very young children.
Ms Clark said police found hundreds of Ross Easton’s chat logs with fellow paedophiles.
They also discovered a folder marked ‘Private’ that contained photos of the girl he had been swapping images with for more than three years.
The girl told police that she felt “uncomfortable” sending Ross Easton material. She thought if she did it once he would leave her alone, but he didn’t.
She kept blocking him on social media but he found ways of reaching her and warned her not to tell anyone what they were doing.
Sheriff John Hamilton placed Ross Easton, now of Garrion Street, Wishaw, on the sex offenders’ register for an indefinite period.
He will also be the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
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