A DEPRAVED paedophile accessed nearly 20,000 sickening child abuse images in less than five months and fantasised about kidnapping, raping and murdering newborn babies.

Alan Gray organised videos of sadistic sexual assaults against infants into specific folders on his laptop computer so that he could pore over them at will in his bedroom at his parents’ Larkfield home.

The warped 18-year-old also engaged in stomach-churning text messages with another pervert where they openly 
discussed the most extreme sexual violence against ‘days old’ babies, a stunned Greenock Sheriff Court was told.

In a Kik messenger app conversation with a pervert identified only as Ashley Ashton, Gray, appeared to revel in a series of sickening fantasies, and in one text he stated: “I’d rape ten-a-day ha ha.” In a later message he said: “I’d kill 25 newborns a night. No mercy.”

Gray added: “They should always be crying and never have a happy moment in their lives. They’re just there for us to abuse.”

In another Kik conversation Gray tormented a user who stated that she was aged 13, asking her intimate questions and threatening her into describing herself in derogatory terms.

A team of police cybercrime officers swooped on Gray as part of an intelligence-led operation shortly after dawn and seized his computer and mobile phone, which also contained horrifying material.

Procurator fiscal depute Hugh Brady told how Gray – who is now locked up prior to being sentenced – was at home with his mother and father when the squad arrived with a search warrant at 7am on June 2 last year.

Mr Brady said: “The content of the search warrant was read to the occupants and the accused stated: ‘I do have stuff on my laptop’.

“A search was carried out and a Samsung laptop and an HTC mobile phone were recovered from the accused’s bedroom.

“Officers from the cybercrime unit conducted a preliminary examination of the laptop and it revealed the presence of indecent images of children.

“The accused was detained and transported to Govan police office.”

The court heard how Gray had a total of 19,884 images – made up of 16,120 still pictures and 3,764 videos – across his electronic devices.

He had 1,864 pictures and 2,254 moving images of Category A abuse, which is classed in law as the worst level of sexual exploitation of children and babies.

The age range of the children – male and female – who were abused was ‘less than a year to 12 years’, Mr Brady said. Gray accessed the images and videos by inputting disgusting ‘associated search terms’ into the Google search engine, the court heard.

Mr Brady said: “The search terms would allow access to various websites in order to view and download images of children. The phone images were obtained from other via the Kik messenger app.”

A total of 105 of Gray’s videos showed brutal sadism towards children and infants. The full details of Mr Brady’s narration of the facts necessary for the court are too disturbing to be printed.

Defence lawyer Aidan Gallagher said that Gray’s offences had ‘almost torn his family apart’. But he asked for his client’s bail to be extended, stating: “The background reports should be as full in their terms as possible and my submission is that they would be better obtained whilst he is in the community.

Sheriff Derek Hamilton told Gray: “Clearly these are very serious charges. Mr Gallagher says that it is important for public safety that the reports should be as full as possible and I agree with that. 

“These can be prepared just as well while you are in custody. The risk is lessened if you are in custody meantime. Given the nature of these extremely serious offences it is likely that you will receive a custodial sentence.”

Gray, who had been working as a full-time barman until his court appearance, was immediately placed on the Sex Offenders Register. He is to be sentenced on May 10.