A man convicted of possessing indecent images of children who fled the UK before he could be sentenced is now behind bars.
William Dempster was convicted in 2014, fleeing the country soon after. Today he has been sent to prison for 18 months and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years after being extradited back from Asia.
He had been found with over 60,000 indecent images and convicted of the offences in May 2014. He failed to appear at court for the subsequent sentencing hearing and enquiries revealed that he had travelled to Bangkok in Thailand via Heathrow Airport.
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In 2021, following a legal change, the Thai authorities were able to consider Dempster’s extradition.
Officers from Police Scotland’s Extradition Unit carried out enquiries to establish his whereabouts, and Dempster was arrested in the coastal city of Pattaya as a result of a joint operation involving Police Scotland, National Crime Agency and Royal Thai Police officers and with the assistance of the Thailand Office of the Attorney General.
On Friday, September 23 2022, he was extradited back to Scotland.
Welcoming the sentence, Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Livingstone said: “Police Scotland officers are committed to relentlessly pursuing criminals who think they are untouchable or above the law and Dempster thought he could evade justice by fleeing the country.
"Our officers worked tirelessly in partnership with our law enforcement colleagues and did not give up on arresting him and bringing him back to Scotland to face the consequences of his crimes.
“I am grateful and pleased to acknowledge the assistance from colleagues in this country and abroad in locating and arresting Dempster which has culminated in this positive and satisfying conclusion today."
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