THE wife of a paedophile who fantasised about schoolgirl members of his own family and distributed indecent images of children from his plush Kilmacolm home is standing by him.

William Robertson retains the support of his spouse and family despite committing what his lawyer described as 'horrific' sexual offences, a sheriff court sentencing hearing was told.

However, the 66-year-old pervert's wife and relatives were nowhere to be seen during the proceedings, which resulted in him being spared prison.

Robertson — who committed his crimes from his £900,000 former home in the village — was caught with vile category A photos, including one of a naked eight-year-old girl being raped by man.

He had a collection of 66 images of girls aged between four and 15 years, made up of two category A, seven category B and 57 category C still photographs.

Women in the public gallery of the courtroom walked out as prosecutor Michael Cunningham provided descriptions of the worst images to Sheriff Bruce Erroch QC.

Robertson's solicitor, Edward Sweeney, told the court afterwards: "These offences are horrific — that's one way to describe them without exaggeration."

Mr Sweeney added: "Mr Robertson continues to have the support of his wife and family.

"His wife supports her husband notwithstanding his convictions for these offences."

The court heard earlier how Robertson told another pervert online that he was 'into schoolgirls' and that he 'fantasises' about young female members of his family.

Cybercrime police swooped on his former home on May 4 last year and found the illegal photos on a laptop computer and an iPhone.

Robertson — who has three adult children — said to his wife at the time: "I'm not part of a ring or anything like that."

He had also been charged with covertly filming female children entering a school, however, his not guilty plea to this allegation was accepted by the Crown.

The court heard that a 'very detailed' background report on Robertson had been compiled following two meetings the sex offender had with a social worker.

Lawyer Mr Sweeney said: "The recurrent theme [in the report] is that he has expressed great shame and regret.

"The position, basically put, is that following his arrest he realised very quickly that there was an issue that required to be dealt with urgently.

"Within days he made an approach to Stop It Now! [a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse]."

Mr Sweeney added: "Mr Robertson truly regrets his involvement in these offences.

"The [background] report indicates a realistic alternative to a custodial sentence.

"His risk is capable of being managed in the community and he has been assessed as being of low risk of reoffending."

Sheriff Erroch QC told Robertson: "Crimes such as this are not victimless and they involve the abuse and exploitation of real, live human beings.

"I am conscious of the fact that sharing such images is an aggravating factor.

"There is a report which contains a number of positive aspects.

"You admitted responsibility and took responsibility at an early stage, and you are assessed as low risk of sexual reconviction.

"Punishment and deterrence have to be at the forefront of my mind.

"That doesn't mean I have to go down the custody route if there is a viable alternative.

"I am persuaded that the mitigating factors outweigh the aggravating factors in your case.

"The number of images is comparatively few and the majority of them are of the lowest category."

Sheriff Erroch QC chose to impose an 'onerous and high level' community payback order on Robertson.

The sex offender must complete 225 hours of unpaid work within 12 months, reduced from the maximum 300 hours due to his guilty pleas.

He will remain under social work supervision for two years and will be subject to a conduct requirement preventing him from approaching or contacting anyone under the age of 16 and severely restricting and monitoring his use of the internet.

Robertson will also remain on the Sex Offenders Register for the two-year duration of his supervision period.