A man jailed for possessing and distributing indecent images of children has been admonished at Ayr Sheriff Court after admitting he breached police notification requirements.
Steven Telfer, 48, admitted failing to inform police of a new username within three days between January 2 and January 6. He was subject to notification requirements and had been placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Telfer, now of MacAdam Square in Ayr, returned to court on Thursday, August 20. Sentencing had previously been deferred for reports, with the court told that the parole board was already involved.
Previous conviction and sentence
Telfer had previously been jailed after more than 500 illicit photographs and 377 moving images were found on a mobile phone at his flat in Maybole.
He was sentenced to three and a half years in custody, followed by a further one-year extended sentence in the community. A sexual offences prevention order was also imposed for seven years to monitor his behaviour.
The court had heard that Telfer admitted possessing indecent photographs of children at his home in St Cuthbert’s Street and elsewhere between November 2021 and February 2023. He also admitted distributing or showing still and moving images to other paedophiles using the Telegram social media app between January 31 and February 7, 2023.
During the earlier case, prosecutors said police received information linking indecent images to the St Cuthbert’s Street address. A warrant was issued and officers seized items during a systematic search before arresting Telfer and taking him to Ayr police station.
Court hears details of breach
Fiscal depute Alasdair Millar told the earlier hearing that 517 still images depicting children aged from 0 to 18 were found on a Samsung phone. The court was told that 181 were category A, 92 category B and 306 category C.
A further 181 category A, 94 category B and 102 category C moving images were also identified. The material was described in court as too horrific to report. It was agreed that the phone would be destroyed.
When Telfer returned to court, defence solicitor Ian Gillies said the case had been deferred for good behaviour and that prosecutors could confirm he had behaved well.
Sheriff Diane Turner said the parole board accepted the matter could be dealt with by a warning and had not requested Telfer’s recall. She admonished him in respect of the breach.
The outcome relates to the notification breach. Telfer remains subject to the indefinite sex-offender registration requirement and the seven-year sexual offences prevention order reported in connection with his earlier conviction.
