A Paisley man, Thomas Southall, has been apprehended after police discovered over 5,000 indecent images depicting child sexual exploitation and abuse. The vile haul was uncovered during a police raid on his Heriot Avenue flat in March 2023.

Law enforcement officers seized two mobile phones, a Samsung and a Vodafone device, from the 37-year-old’s residence. A subsequent cybercrime analysis by Police Scotland, with a report produced in June 2024, revealed a staggering 5,297 images of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Of these, 702 were classified as Category A, representing the most severe forms of abuse, 844 as Category B, and 3,751 as Category C.

In addition to the images, 16 videos of child abuse were recovered from the devices. Nine of these videos were ranked as Category A, six as Category B, and one as Category C. Further disturbing findings included two images depicting sexual activity between adults and dogs, recovered from the Samsung device.

Procurator fiscal depute Alyson McLaughlan informed Paisley Sheriff Court that police, acting on a search warrant, executed the search on March 21, 2023. Southall was present and confirmed his understanding of the warrant's terms. Following the recovery of the evidence, Southall was reported to the procurator fiscal’s office and, when questioned by police, offered no comment.

Southall pleaded guilty to being in possession of indecent images of children between October 4, 2019, and March 21, 2023, at his Paisley home. He also admitted to possessing “extreme pornographic images” depicting sexual activity between adults and dogs, explicitly and realistically, between November 11, 2022, and March 21, 2023.

Defence agent Mr Murphy requested a full range of background reports. Sheriff Small deferred sentencing to allow for the preparation of a criminal justice social work report, a restriction of liberty order assessment, and an extended risk assessment. Southall has been placed on the sex offenders’ register in the interim, and his bail order has been continued. He is scheduled to return to Paisley Sheriff Court for sentencing on October 31.