A former firearms cop who admitted sex offences against children has been jailed for 18 months.
Sheriff Colm Dempsey told Jack Addis on Wednesday his offences “are of such gravity”, there was no alternative but a sentence of imprisonment.
He said: “Sexual crimes involving children are particularly odious and not acceptable in society and it is the responsibilty of the court to reflect that.”
Addis, 62, has also been placed on the sex offenders register for a period of 10 years and will be subject to a sexual prevention order for five years.
The ex-Dumfries man, now of Kinloch, Blairgowrie, had previously pleaded guilty to four charges which happened over a seven-year period.
They included photographing a naked boy, who was aged 10 at the start of the offences, between February 11, 2014 and March 23, 2015 at Solway Swim, Annan and recording a 14-year-old boy who was naked in the shower at Addis’ former home in Rosedale Gardens, Dumfries, on August 13, 2015.
He also recorded an image of a naked boy who was 15 at the time on February 22, 2021 at Leadhills and he admitted having indecent photos of children at his home between July 13 and 14, 2021.
A laptop and SD cards were also recovered from the loft of Addis’ house on July 14, 2021, showing 335 moving and more than 20,000 still images with significant emphasis on sexual abuse of male children between the ages of four and 15 years.
Dumfries Sheriff Court had previously heard that after Addis was arrested, he repeatedly admitted that he was fully aware that cops would be intending to arrest him in relation to the possession of indecent images of children.
During interview Addis told how he and his wife had been married for 43 years.
He made numerous admissions including that he had lived a double life and had been viewing indecent images for between seven and 10 years.
Addis said he believed he may be bi-sexual and would use the internet at home to look at images of young boys.
On Wednesday, Addis’ solicitor Gavin Orr described the case as “tragic in many ways”.
He said: “He has wrestled wth his feelings in relation to how to deal with the problem he has and how to control it.”
Sheriff Dempsey described Addis’ actions as a “gross breach of trust”.
“The offences are of such gravity there is no alternative to a sentence of imprisonment.”
