A man who told police he didn’t know the passwords for his mobile phones has been jailed after child abuse images were found on the devices.
Hamilton Sheriff Court heard that specialist officers spent two-and-a-half years trying to crack the codes before they could examine Andrew Buchan’s phones.
They eventually recovered hundreds of indecent photographs and videos.
Buchan, 36, admitted possessing the graphic material between July 2015 and February 2021 at his home in Glasgow Road, Strathaven.
He has since moved to a new address that was not disclosed in court.
Sheriff Colin Dunipace jailed him for 10 months and put him on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.
John Coogan, prosecuting, said Buchan was alone in the house when officers arrived with a search warrant on February 1, 2021.
He told them: “My life is over. I’ve been on a downward spiral since I was 11.”
Mr Coogan stated: “A number of items were seized including two iPhones. The accused said both of these belonged to him but claimed he didn’t know the password for either device.
“Cybercrime officers were unable to gain access to what was on the phones because of this.
“Finally they did so on August 10, 2023, when child sexual exploitation material, predominantly involving females aged one year to 15, was found.”
There were 306 indecent photos, 66 of which were ranked in the most depraved category.
The officers also counted 217 videos featuring child sex abuse with around 40 being in the worst category.
Buchan, who has no previous convictions, was arrested on September 22 last year.
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