A Bellshill man has been jailed after he was caught with child sex abuse images for a second time.
Sheriff Colin Dunipace said he would be failing in his duty to protect children if he didn’t send Andrew Brailsford to prison.
Police found 3,569 photos and 24 videos on devices belonging to Brailsford, 36, of Maclean Drive.
He admitted downloading the graphic images between August 2017 and November last year.
Hamilton Sheriff Court heard the children involved appeared to be aged between three years and 16.
Brailsford avoided prison at the same court in 2019 when he admitted downloading almost 32,000 child sex abuse images.
On that occasion he was placed under social work supervision for three years and ordered to carry out 225 hours of unpaid community work.
Defence lawyer Diarmid Bruce said Brailsford, who lived previously in Motherwell, has had difficulties throughout his life.
Mr Bruce stated: “These images were inappropriate but there has been no contact with children.
“There are options other than custody that would be in his interests and also those of the public.
“He would cooperate with an intensive support programme that social workers think he would benefit from.”
But Sheriff Dunipace jailed Brailsford for a year and put him back on the sex offenders’ register.
The sheriff told him: “It is of great concern that you have done this before and have continued to offend while on a community payback order imposed in the previous case.
“You were under supervision for three years and it has made no difference whatsoever.
“I have a duty to protect young people from those who indulge in this type of behaviour. I would be failing in my duty if I imposed anything other than custody.
“Particularly in regard to your previous conviction, the court must take a serious view of this.”
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