A PAEDO ex-councillor has been caged after he was snared with a sickening cache of child sex abuse images and videos.
Craig Edward, 34, was charged after cops caught him with the vile content on his mobile in September 2022, which he had shared with other beasts.
Last month, he pleaded guilty to three charges that covered a six-year period and involved 599 images involving children as young as five and an infant.
Despite his plea, shameless Edward continued to work for weeks as an independent councillor.
Today at Dumbarton Sheriff Court he was jailed for 28 months.
Sheriff William Gallacher said his crimes “plumb the depths of depravity”.
Sentencing the pervert, he told Edward: “You had a lengthy period of accessing material that is illegal to possess. Children have been abused in the images you accessed.
“Although you did not abuse the children shown, you helped by creating or sharing the material… you contributed to the pain distributed during the time these images were created.
“I also have to take into account the descriptions and, having read them, they plumb the depths of depravity, even among those that I have heard over the years.
“You made these messages available to others. These are features that are at the forefront of my mind.
“You have no past criminal history and put yourself forward to help others. But I’m not obliged to apply much weight to that, and I’m aware that you have brought up periods of your own life.”
He added: “Putting all these features together, I’m satisfied that the only way I can deal with this matter is by imposing a significant custodial sentence.
“The offences in relation to charges one and two involved utterly disgraceful images.”
Edward’s sentence was reduced from a potential 40 months as a sexual harm prevention order was also issued.
The sicko is banned from speaking to children and he is not allowed to have more than one mobile phone.
He is also prohibited from owning any device with an unknown serial number or that can permanently erase material.
The beast cannot delete his online history and is banned from using several online sharing services.
Edward was also placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and a five-year sexual harm prevention order was issued.
His lawyer, Lauren Kerr, said that the former independent councillor for Clydebank Central, who stepped down earlier this month, was himself abused as a child.
She said: “He was subjected to sexual assault between the ages of eight and 12. It was reported to the police in 2002.
“He seemed to have become obsessed with finding any recordings of himself, and that’s why he continued. He was not thinking rationally.
“I can’t put myself in his shoes and his thinking.”
But Sheriff Gallacher responded: “It’s absurd.”
Edward, who previously stood for Scottish Labour between May and September 2022, was nicked after a search warrant was issued on September 22, 2022.
Cops and cyber crime officers attended an address in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, and an iPhone 10 was seized.
The operation was part of Police Scotland’s national online child abuse prevention (NOCAP) strategy.
On February 14, he pleaded guilty to three charges under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
Some of the pictures were homemade and there were also 93 explicit videos.
It emerged that between March 6, 2016 and September 26, 2022, at the Crown Avenue address, he took or allowed indecent images or computer-generated photographs of kids to be taken.
Between the same dates, he was also caught with inappropriate pictures of children at the same property.
And between September 20 and 22, 2022, the beast shared indecent images of minors.
Edward, now of Calne, Wiltshire, appeared emotionless as he was led away from the dock in handcuffs.
An NSPCC Scotland spokesperson: “As a local councillor, Edward held a position of trust within the community, yet at home he was downloading and creating horrendous images of child abuse.
“These crimes are far from victimless. By viewing and sharing illegal images of children, Edward has fuelled demand in such material which can impact children for the rest of their lives.
“We hope the outcome of this case demonstrates nobody is immune from the law, regardless of the position they hold in society.
“Any adults concerned about a child’s safety or wellbeing can contact the NSPCC Helpline at help@nspcc.org.uk or by calling 0808 800 5000. Children who have been affected by this, or any other issue, can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit childline.org.uk.”
