Student jailed over child porn

Maycock was jailed at Edinburgh Sheriff Court

A physics student has been jailed for six months for viewing indecent images of children on the internet.

David Maycock, 21, accessed a picture exchange site from his bedroom computer in Edinburgh.

His family home was raided by officers after a tip-off from the Metropolitan Police, Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard.

Delivering sentence Sheriff Derrick McIntyre said child pornography is an "abomination" which must be stamped out.

Maycock used the computer at his parents' house in Meadowbank Crescent to view 23 images.

'Serious abuse'

After his home was raided he told officers that he had moved from adult pornography to children "out of curiosity".

He later admitted that the children shown were victims of abuse, but said he was willing to get help.

Maycock pleaded guilty to possessing the illegal material with a view to it being distributed between 11 October and 27 November, 2002.

Sentencing him Sheriff McIntyre said: "Child pornography is an abomination that requires to be stamped out.

"Each photograph represents a serious abuse of a child. Were it not for the existence of consumers like yourself these children would not be photographed being abused."