Man jailed after FBI abuse probe

Bruce McFarlane was told the public needed protection from him

A man caught with a library of films showing young boys being sexually abused has been jailed for three years.

Bruce McFarlane was caught after the FBI in America tipped-off police, who raided his home in Perthshire.

The 56-year-old, who admitted the offence, will be supervised under licence for three years after release.

At Stirling Sheriff Court, McFarlane, whose collection included more than 100 video clips, was told he had to be jailed in order to protect the public.

His home in Callander was raided in August 2005 after FBI agents in New Orleans investigating the sale of child abuse videos passed McFarlane's details to local police.

International cooperation

The haul, which involved boys under 16-years-old, also included images and six films and amounted to almost 1,200 items.

Robert Jones, defending, said unemployed McFarlane promised to leave Scotland forever if allowed his liberty.

But Sheriff Paul Arthurson, who placed McFarlane on the sex offenders register for life, told him: "Because of the gravity of the crime and the need to protect the public I consider that a custodial disposal is the only appropriate disposal."

Following the sentence, Det Sgt David Nolan, head of Central Scotland Police's computer crime unit, said: "This was an excellent example of the power of cooperation between law enforcement agencies in the United States and the UK."