Former footballer pleads guilty to child sex offences

Ian Heddle, 61 pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow

An ex- footballer has admitted the serious sexual assault of a child and possession of thousands of indecent images of children.

Ian Heddle, 61, originally from Dunfermline, was originally charged after more than 270,000 indecent photos and videos of children were found in his possession.

A police investigation led to him being further charged with the sexual assault of a child, believed to be around eight, in Thailand.

Heddle was a midfielder for a number of Scottish clubs in the 1980s and 90s including St Johnstone and Dunfermline Athletic.

He pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow and will be sentenced next month.

The court heard the 61-year-old, now living in Thailand, was arrested for the possession of indecent images at Edinburgh Airport in February 2023.

The court heard Heddle had been linked to the viewing and uploading of child abuse material from the web.

This was said to have been done at a property in Scotland where he stayed at while visiting from the far east.

Prosecutor Tracey Brown told the court: "He was interviewed and spoke freely. He admitted to the possession of indecent images of children.

"He stated that there would be thousands of images and videos in his hard drive and that they were categorised into folders."

Ms Brown said there was a total of 272,936 photos as well as 4,001 clips.

After his initial appearance in court he was bailed and ordered to remain in Scotland.

'Distinct wedding band'

During the police investigation, officers found three videos of him abusing a child as she slept in Chonburi in Thailand in 2019.

He was identified by the hair on his fingers and his wedding ring in the clips.

The court was told "facial features" could not be identified.

"However, the hands were relatively chubby with hairs on his fingers and he was wearing a distinct wedding band," the prosecutor added.

Heddle was traced by police to Dunfermline in September 2023 where he had been working as a road cleaner.

Ms Brown: "During an interview, he verified himself as the person in the pictures and videos carrying out the sexual assault of the child."

Ms Brown said further checks of his phone revealed "contact offending" involving Heddle and an unknown young female.

Heddle pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow

Heddle's KC, Brian McConnachie, said from the very outset he had been "co-operative" with police.

Heddle had been on bail, but Judge John McCormick told him: "Your status has now changed and you will be remanded in custody."

Det Insp Adrian Ure of Police Scotland's national child abuse investigations unit said: “We understand how distressing this has been for the girl and her family. We hope that the knowledge that he has now pled guilty will at least provide some comfort to them.

"Police Scotland is committed to protecting children and were able to pursue Heddle under legislation which protects children anywhere in the world from sexual abuse by British nationals."

Heddle was also put on the sex offenders register.