A KILWINNING man has admitted possessing an indecent image of a child.

Christopher Davidson, of Byres Road, possessing the image at an address in Stobbs Terrace between January 2011 and April 2014.

Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard last week how Davidson was target of an investigation by the National Online Child Abuse Prevention team on March 27.

This was in relation to information received by police that Davidson was concerned in digital media which posed a risk to children by being in possession of indecent images of children.

A search warrant was granted and police attended his home on April 3 to execute the warrant.

Davidson, however, was not at home but officers began their search regardless.

A laptop and its hard drive were initially recovered and Davidson was eventually traced at his mother’s house in Prestwick.

When he was cautioned by police Davidson, 36, told officers: “I have nothing to hide.” Davidson was brought to his house and remained there while the search continued.

An iPhone 5 mobile phone was recovered and when asked if he had any other similar devices he said he owned an iPad Mini and a Samsung laptop.

However, both of these had been taken to a Cash Generator shop.

Police were able to retrieve both items from the shop and were sent to the police’s Digital Forensics Unit (DFU).

The DFU’s findings showed that an image had been recovered from his home laptop.

The image was rated as a Level 1 image and described a young female aged 10-14 wearing a two-piece swimming costume and posing erotically.

A review of Davidson’s internet browsing history found searches such as “14-year-old girls”, “best 14-year-old sex sites”, “pre-teen nude”, and “child lover”.

When being interviewed by police on April 3, Davidson initially fully denied possessing any indecent images.

He appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week and pled guilty.

His solicitor, Paul Gallacher, told the court how the image was contained in an internet folder on his browser.

He revealed how the image had been downloaded on January 14 from a free photo sharing website based in Russia.

Mr Gallacher added how the site is not private and can be accessed by members of the public.

In addition, he told the court how Davidson has now accepted his guilt in the matter.

His sentence was deferred until January to gather social work reports.