A founding member of 70s supergroup the Bay City Rollers has been
given community service after he admitted possessing child porn.
Derek Longmuir, drummer with the Scottish group, learned he had
escaped jail when he was sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on
Friday.
When police raided Longmuir's home they found child pornography on
videos, photographs and computer images.
The 49-year-old, from Edinburgh, claimed that the material belonged
to an American friend and that he deplored the "exploitation of
children".
However Longmuir, who was given 300 hours community service, admitted
downloading four indecent pictures from the internet onto his
computer.
The Edinburgh Royal Infirmary nurse had initially been charged with
child pornography and drugs charges and had appeared in court in
August last year.
Police seized more than 150 videos and six projector reels along with
73 floppy disks.
More than 1000 images were retrieved and from that 117 contained
sexual activity involving children.
Longmuir's employers suspended him following the allegations. They
will now reconsider his position.
Longmuir's lawyer Robbie Burnett said of his client: "I have had
various expressions of support for him and there appears to be no
doubt that the health service can ill afford to lose someone as well
trained and caring as Mr Longmuir clearly is."
He added in court: "If you send him to prison you would lose that
skill and care. His life would be destroyed if he lost his job and
his house.
"Despite being a celebrity for many years he doesn't have the money
but he has found his vocation caring for people."
Sentencing him, Sheriff Isobel Poole told Longmuir: "A court can only
take a very serious view where children are involved and that, after
all, is the reason why legislation was passed to protect them.
"Because of substantial mitigating factors placed before the court
and as an alternative to a custodial sentence I have concluded that
community service would be an appropriate way of dealing with this."