83-Year-Old Man Seized in Scotland With What Police Call the 'Largest Collection' of Child Abuse Images

Alan MacPherson, 83, from Stenhousemuir in Stirlingshire, has pleaded guilty to downloading, possessing, and distributing child sexual abuse material at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

The 83-year-old Scottish man was found with more than two million images and videos on multiple devices from his home, which police have described as the 'largest collection' of child abuse images in Scotland.

Among the evidence, over 805,000 files were formally identified as indecent images of children, with material falling into Categories A, B and C. Category A represents the most serious classification.

Nine Devices, Millions of Files

Falkirk Sheriff Court heard on 19 August that the number of files relating to child abuse found in MacPherson's home 'overwhelmed' the authorities' capacity to check and categorise them. Police Scotland were able to confiscate nine devices from the pensioner's home, ranging from phones to computers, and external storage drives.

Each of the nine devices reportedly had child sexual abuse material, but only five of them were subjected to a full examination.

On one solid-state storage drive alone, officers found over 690,000 files relating to child sexual abuse, while over 1.3 million were left ungraded. Across all devices, Police Scotland reportedly found 805,306 images and videos that were formally identified.

According to the prosecutor, Rachel Wallace, the victims found in MacPherson's hoard of files mostly consisted of girls between the ages of nine and 15. At least one victim was possibly as young as seven years old.

Due to the sheer volume of material recovered, police were unable to examine and classify every file individually. Instead, investigators carried out a limited grading process to assess a portion of the material, ultimately formally identifying the aforementioned amount across the examined devices.

How Police Traced MacPherson

The prosecution told the court on Wednesday that authorities were able to trace MacPherson through an encrypted messaging platform online. Prosecutor Wallace stated that in July 2025, the pensioner distributed several child sexual exploitation images, classified as the most serious Category A, with an undercover police officer.

Even though the online platform focused on anonymous messaging, investigators traced the IP address that uploaded the files back to MacPherson's home. Authorities eventually carried out an early-morning search in July 2025, where they found the 'overwhelming' amount of files across nine devices.

When interviewed after his arrest, MacPherson admitted to the authorities that the files were 'for his own personal gratification.' He also stated that he spent years searching online for the indecent images of children, which prosecutors have concluded to have been between January 2012 and January 2026.

Sheriff Revokes MacPherson's Bail

Meanwhile, MacPherson's defense lawyer, Stephen Biggam, told the court that his client is deaf and has macular degeneration. However, Sheriff Harris emphasised the seriousness, scale and duration of the offenses when ordering him into custody.

After MacPherson's guilty plea, he was remanded in custody after Sheriff Craig Harris revoked his bail and placed the 83-year-old on the Sex Offenders' Register.

A scheduled hearing is set to take place on September 8, as the court requested background reports before sentencing MacPherson. The scheduled report can also help determine whether the pensioner should face post-release supervision.