William Dempster who fled Scotland for Thailand over indecent images of children jailed following extradition

A man who fled to Thailand after being convicted of possessing thousands of indecent images of children has been jailed following extradition back to Scotland.

William Dempster was arrested by police in Pattaya in May, eight years after failing to attend sentencing for being caught with 60,000 pictures by officers at his home in Lanarkshire.

He was later discovered to have absconded to Thailand before a joint operation between officers in UK and their local counterparts uncovered him living in the beachside city.

The 46-year-old was jailed for 18 months and placed on the sex offenders’ register for ten years at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Monday.

Dempster, originally from Tayside, was previously arrested in England on charges of “producing, having in possession and disseminating child pornographic material between 2008 and 2013”.

Thai authorities were able to process the extradition request after a change in the law in 2014. Officers then arrested him outside his home earlier this year.

Police Scotland, National Crime Agency and Royal Thai Police collaborated on the investigation that led to Dempster being returned to Scotland on September 23.

Detective chief superintendent Paul Livingstone 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.”