A former professional footballer has been jailed for four years for the sexual assault of a child and possession of more than 270,000 indecent images and 4,000 videos of children.

Ian Heddle was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday, July 9 after he pled guilty to the offences he had been arrested for. As well as being sentenced to four years in prison, Heddle will also be placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period of time.

Heddle spent 15 years as a professional footballer playing in Scotland and in Australia before his retirement for clubs such as Dunfermline Athletic, St Johnstone, Forfar Athletic, Brechin City, Kelty Hearts and Newcastle Breakers.

The 61-year-old lived in Thailand after his retirement from the game but was arrested and charged in Scotland in connection with possessing indecent images of children in February 2023.

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Police had received intelligence that email and MeWe accounts linked to the 61-year-old had viewed and uploaded child abuse material to the internet.

Subsequently during interviews, Heddle told officers they would find thousands of images and videos on his hard drivers and they were categorised into various folders. His electronic devices were later examined and found to contain 272,937 indecent images of children alongside 4,001 videos.

Three of those videos discovered on his iPhone 12 showed Heddle abusing a young child while she slept and carrying out sexual acts in her presence.

The National Crime Agency worked with the Royal Thai Police to support Police Scotland’s investigation and helped to ensure the safeguarding of the child in Thailand and obtained a witness statement.

Detective Inspector Adrian Ure of National Child Abuse Investigations Unit said: “Heddle’s behaviour was deplorable with no thought to the young child he sexually assaulted or the victims depicted in the images and videos he was viewing.

“His sentencing sends a clear message that anyone found guilty of these offences will be brought to justice.

“Child protection is a priority for Police Scotland and our partners and we will use the latest technologies and tactics to identify offenders, prevent offending and to protect children from sexual exploitation.

“We treat all reports of sexual crime with the utmost seriousness and will investigate all reports of sexual offences thoroughly in order to bring perpetrators of such crimes to justice, while at the same time providing all the necessary support.”

Duncan Burrage, a National Crime Agency International Liaison Officer, said: “Offenders like Ian Heddle think that they won’t get caught by travelling to the other side of the world to conduct child abuse.

“However, the NCA has the capabilities to identify and disrupt them. Borders are not a barrier; we work closely with our partners in the UK and overseas to ensure that Britons committing child abuse offences abroad are prosecuted and vulnerable children are safeguarded, wherever they are in the world.

“Child sexual abuse is a major global issue which requires a collective international response, which is why tackling it in all its forms remains a priority for the NCA.”