Ex Tain man sentenced for having photos of undressed girls
A former Inverness church relief organist who was twice jailed for possessing vast amounts of indecent images and videos of children being abused has avoided a prison sentence after admitting having photos of young undressed girls displayed on a shelf in his bedroom.
Iain McIntyre (52), of Nelson Street, Inverness but who formerly stayed in Tain's Mansfield Estate, previously appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to possessing a total of 15 printed photos on January 10 last year. Sentence was deferred for a background report.
McIntyre re-appeared in front of Sheriff Ian Cruickshank for sentencing and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work and take part in a sex offender's rehabilitation programme. He was also placed under social work supervision and on the Sex Offenders’ Register for three years as an alternative to custody.
Fiscal depute Emily Hood had told the court earlier that the images were found by police who had obtained a search warrant for McIntyre's home and involved girls aged between 14 and 15, mostly in states of undress.
His solicitor David Patterson told the court "that given his record of previous convictions, he should have known better".
McIntyre had been jailed for 18 months at Edinburgh High Court in 2011 for possessing more than 170,000 still images and nearly 1000 videos which was the largest haul in the Highlands ever recovered at that time.
Then in 2020, he was jailed for another 18 months at Inverness Sheriff Court for possessing 3716 stills and 80 video fragments at his Tain home.
He was removed from his duties as relief organist at Crown Church earlier this year, after starting playing there in February 2024.
The suspension followed concerns by parents and the Church of Scotland issued a statement saying McIntyre had never been in the church during nursery hours or alone with a child.
