Two men responsible for the sexual assault of a young boy and the distribution of indecent images have today been jailed.
At the High Court in Edinburgh, Richard Gallagher and Scott Sinclair were sentenced to seven and 12 years in prison respectively.
Both Gallagher, 29 and Sinclair, 30 were responsible for the abuse of their 15-year-old victim sometime in 2014 during which time a number of graphic images and videos were taken.
These were then shared with others around the country using a ‘What’s App’ account.
Following intelligence, Police Scotland conducted a thorough investigation to identify the source of these images and both were charged in September 2014.
Detective Inspector Brian Stuart from Police Scotland’s Cybercrime Unit said: “Richard Gallagher and Scott Sinclair were responsible for a horrific level of sexual abuse on a young male, whose suffering was compounded further when the footage of this abuse was then shared with other individuals.
“As a result of the vital intelligence gathered we were able to link the pair to this offence and ultimately ensure that following today’s sentence, both will spend a number of years in prison.
“Police Scotland is committed to protecting vulnerable people from harm and bringing anyone responsible for the online sexual exploitation of these individuals to justice.
“Anyone wishing to report criminal activity of this nature should contact us on 101 or make an anonymous report through the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
