Paedophile Mark Gemmell jailed for indecent images haul

Mark Gemmell was caught with the depraved haul at his Greenock home last year and confessed to possessing and distributing images and footage to an online community of sex offenders.

A sheriff court hearing was told last week that the 49-year-old, who has previously been jailed for similar crimes, admitted that he needs help - but the deviant could be back on the streets by this summer.

He was given an extended prison sentence on Wednesday, with a 24-month term behind bars and a further two years on licence in the community.

However, pervert Gemmell has been remanded in custody since he was charged in June 2023, meaning his backdated period of imprisonment could make him eligible for early release in just three months' time.

Mark Gemmell (Image: Facebook)

The court heard that a tip-off was provided to police regarding a device that was connected to the internet and downloading and sharing indecent images of children from Wellpark Buildings in Greenock.

A search of his address was carried out and officers seized a blue Samsung mobile phone which contained 54 video files and more than 200 photos, almost all involving young females aged between five and 15, depicting child sexual exploitation.

READ MORE: Sex offender who distributed indecent images of children has been jailed (from 2021)

The hideous content was analysed and 26 videos were classified as being in the most extreme category A , while 13 videos were category B and 15 were category C.

The film footage, totalling around half-an-hour in length, included girls as young as six, while some of the images featured youngsters aged just five-years-old.

Seventeen of the pictures were in the most extreme category, while 12 were category B and 201 were category C, according to prosecutors.

The majority of the files came from the Kick messaging app, known for its anonymity features, with chats involving other perverts discovered on Gemmell's device.

One user messaged a chat group stating that he was 'into schoolgirls aged 10 and under' and a procurator fiscal depute said Gemmell sent 69 indecent images to 23 different accounts between April and June last year.

The fiscal depute told the court that 'there is no indication that any of the imagery is first generation'.

Support local journalism by subscribing to the Greenock Telegraph HERE

Defence solicitor Holly Laird said her client, who has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years, 'has been extremely candid and honest about his involvement' and 'he takes full responsibility for his actions'.

The lawyer told the court: "He advised that this was a problem he has had for a long period of time.

"He fully accepts that he needs help.

"He is looking to get some sort of intervention from a custodial sentence.

"He told me he will take any help that he is given. He is extremely keen to prohibit his offending behaviour.

"It is something that he cannot control. He doesn't seem to have any control mechanisms over it."

READ MORE: Man denies smashing up cars and making gun and bomb threats during armed police siege

The court heard that Gemmell now has three analogous convictions on his record and that there 'seems to be a pattern of offending behaviour that is slowly getting more serious'.

Sheriff James Varney said: "He got that help on the last occasion when he was released from custody.

"No doubt about it, it is accelerating and the court needs to be punitive about it."

The sheriff told Gemmell: "It is clear that you cannot be managed in the community and you understand that fully.

"I have taken into account the appalling nature of the images and videos, the age and vulnerability of the children, some of whom were depicted in extremely vulnerable acts which is simply intolerable in any society.

"This is disgraceful behaviour especially when combined with your previous convictions."