Teacher Alan Nardoni jailed over 'dreadful' child abuse images
An Aberdeenshire teacher has been jailed for three and a half years after admitting possessing and distributing thousands of images of children being abused.
Alan Nardoni, 36, downloaded images to a computer he used for school work.
He worked at Portlethen Academy and coached the under 14 boys football team.
Sheriff Margaret Neilson told Nardoni that some of the material was probably the worst she had ever encountered.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told that Strathclyde Police had been alerted to Alan Nardoni's activities in 2006 but took no action.
He continued to collect images on the computer he used to store his school work. They included the abuse of a baby which Sheriff Margaret Neilson said was "truly dreadful."
She told him: "The detail of some of the photographs and videos are probably the worst I have had the misfortune to listen to.
"This is not a victimless crime. Each and every one of these children has suffered abuse, in some cases absolutely horrific abuse, and the physical and emotional damage they have suffered is difficult to imagine."
The court heard Nardoni was "at high risk of causing serious harm".
He continued to offend even although he knew he was under investigation, and downloaded images even after he had appeared in court on petition in January 2012 and had been released on bail.
The sheriff concluded: "These offences in Kilmarnock and Aberdeen were committed over a six-and-a-half-year period and when you were employed in a position of trust working with children as a teacher.
"Indeed you even involved your family by borrowing your sister's laptop. They are entirely innocent and were completely unaware of your actions."
Nardoni admitted possessing at least 1,141 videos and 5,904 images on two laptops, a memory stick and several CDs and DVDs, and distributing images between February 2006 and August 2012 at addresses in Cumbernauld, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock.
His videos and photographs contained some of the most serious abuse involving girls but mostly boys aged between one year and 15 years old, including two videos of baby boys being sexually assaulted.
The court was told Nardoni first came to the attention of police in June 2006 when an image was downloaded from a website used to exchange indecent images of children using an IP address assigned to Nardoni's home in Cumbernauld.
Fiscal depute Iain Smith told the court: "This information was disseminated to Strathclyde Police however it would appear no action was taken."
The same file share site was accessed in June 2011 from an IP address allocated to Nardoni's Aberdeen address.
As a result, Grampian Police obtained a search warrant in August 2011 when computer equipment, including a memory stick, laptop, CDs and DVDs were seized.
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: "Mr Nardoni is no longer employed by Aberdeenshire Council."
Det Insp Richie Guild, of Police Scotland, said: "Alan Nardoni was clearly a persistent offender who amassed a vast cache of vile material over more than six years.
"He was convicted of viewing and distributing images of children who have suffered the most horrific abuse. He now has to face the consequences of his abhorrent actions."