A Scots soft-play boss facing a lengthy prison sentence in America for possessing thousands of child abuse images on his phone could face similar charges if he returns to Scotland.
Border guards discovered the images when Steven Paul McInally arrived at Orlando International Airport in Florida on August 25, 2023.
The officers reportedly ordered the 36-year-old of Glasgow’s Tollcross, to open his iPhone before discovering approximately 3,900 images and 70 videos of child sexual abuse material.
It is understood that some of the child sexual abuse material found on the phone included images of children that had been taken during a sleepover party they had attended at McInally’s home.
McInally is due to spend 25 years in federal prison for transporting and possessing child sexual abuse material after pleading guilty on November 1, last year.
This case was investigated by US Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie A. McNeff.
McInally reportedly owned the Go Wild soft play unit in Bridgeton, which played host to hundreds of children every week, before his arrest.
Glasgow Live reports that McInally could face charges on his return to Scotland after Police Scotland made a report to the Procurator Fiscal in connection with ‘offences under the Sexual Offences Scotland Act 2009’.
The Crown Office has reportedly received the standard prosecution report, which is said to relate to alleged incidents in 2023. The nature of these incidents is unknown, and whether charges will be brought is unclear.
Glasgow Live previously reported how officers were seen searching the Go Wild soft play in Glasgow not long after McInally’s arrest. It is understood detectives also carried out searches at his home.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Following an investigation, a 36-year-old man was subject of a report to the Procurator Fiscal in connection with offences under the Sexual Offences Scotland Act 2009.”
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “A standard prosecution report has been received by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service from Police Scotland in relation to a 36-year-old man and incidents said to have occurred in 2023.”
A spokesperson for the US Attorneys Office said in a statement: “This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
“Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.”
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