A paedophile who fled the UK before he could be sentenced on child sex offences has been caged for 18 months after being extradited back from Asia.
William Dempster, 46, originally from the Tayside area but living in Lanarkshire, was jailed and put on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years when he appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court yesterday (Monday).
He was snared after police cybercrime officers discovered more than 60,000 indecent images which he admitted downloading over a three-year period at an address in Charlotte Street, Shotts and convicted of the offences in May 2014.
But Dempster, of New Stevenston, failed to appear in court for the subsequent sentencing hearing and enquiries revealed that he had travelled to Bangkok in Thailand via Heathrow Airport.
In 2021, following a legal change, the Thai authorities were able to consider Dempster’s extradition.
Officers from Police Scotland’s Extradition Unit carried out extensive enquiries, which established his whereabouts, and the fugitive was arrested in the coastal city of Pattaya.
He was detained on an international warrant after a joint operation involving Police Scotland, National Crime Agency and Royal Thai Police officers and with the assistance of the Thailand Office of the Attorney General.
The court heard that he spent more than 100 days in a Thai prison before being extradited back to Scotland on September 23 this year.
Sheriff Thomas Millar told Dempster that, given the serious nature of the offence and the fact that he'd "fled abroad to avoid justice", only a jail sentence was appropriate.
Welcoming his sentence, Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Livingstone, of Police Scotland said: “Police Scotland officers are committed to relentlessly pursuing criminals who think they are untouchable or above the law and Dempster thought he could evade justice by fleeing the country.
"Our officers worked tirelessly in partnership with our law enforcement colleagues and did not give up on arresting him and bringing him back to Scotland to face the consequences of his crimes.
“I am grateful and pleased to acknowledge the assistance from colleagues in this country and abroad in locating and arresting Dempster which has culminated in this positive and satisfying conclusion today.”
Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did yo u know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head over to our page to give us a like and share.
