83-Year-Old Scottish Man Sentenced for Possessing Record-Size Child Abuse Collection
Alan MacPherson, 83, was sentenced to four years in prison for holding what police say is Scotland’s largest cache of child sexual abuse images.
Police Scotland seized nine devices from Alan MacPherson’s home in Stenhousemuir, revealing a collection exceeding two million images, of which over 805,000 showed child sexual abuse. The material spanned computers, phones, cameras and external drives, and the sheer volume prevented forensic examiners from categorising all files. During a 2025 investigation, undercover officers traced his IP address and intercepted him posting the most serious images in an online chat.
Sheriff Mayram Labaki called the offence “exceptional” and condemned his unremorseful statements that the victims were “consenting”. The court sentenced MacPherson to four years’ imprisonment, three years of post-release supervision, and a lifetime registration on the sex offenders list. He also faces personal health claims and divorce proceedings while his wife has served divorce papers.
Why it matters
The case highlights the scale of online child exploitation and the legal response to massive abuse material collections.
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