Ross Robert Morrison

A man from Lerwick, Shetland, has admitted to possessing a vast collection of indecent images and videos of children, leading to his upcoming sentencing at Lerwick Sheriff Court. Ross Robert Morrison, aged 46, of Burgh Road, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of 'taking or permitting to be taken' the images at an address in Lerwick between 3 December 2016 and 16 January 2018. The case came to light following a police search warrant executed at his home, where officers seized a laptop containing the illicit material.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie detailed the extent of the offence during the court hearing. The images and videos spanned all three categories of classification under UK law, with category A representing the most serious content involving penetrative sexual activity or sadism. While most of the material—over 21,000 inaccessible images and nearly 300 inaccessible videos—fell into the less severe category C, there were also 15 inaccessible category A images and three category A videos. No accessible images or videos were found in categories A or B, but the inaccessible files indicated deleted content that had been recovered by forensic examination. All the material depicted girls, some as young as five years old, and Morrison had accessed a Russian image-sharing website to obtain it. Morrison confirmed the laptop belonged to him and emphasised that his partner was unaware of his activities.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank addressed Morrison directly, informing him that he would be subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, commonly known as the sex offenders register. The sheriff warned that 'there is only one likely outcome' upon sentencing, implying a custodial sentence. Morrison was continued on bail pending his next court appearance on 5 December, when the formal sentencing will take place. This case highlights ongoing police efforts to combat child sexual exploitation through digital means, with the material's discovery underscoring the challenges in recovering deleted files from personal devices.

The proceedings were reported by The Press and Journal, based on details from the court hearing at Lerwick Sheriff Court. No further details on the initial police investigation were provided, but the search warrant suggests involvement from Police Scotland, the force responsible for Shetland.