SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Lady Poole said:

"RYAN O’DONNELL, on 13 January 2025 you pled guilty to three serious offences at the High Court in Edinburgh. 

A search was carried out in a residential area, in a flat and garage connected with you.  Significant amounts of explosive substances were found, stored in a variety of bags, jars and tubs.  There was also information and paraphernalia that could assist in the manufacture of explosive substances.  It appears that you were making fireworks as a hobby.  Nevertheless, what you were doing and the way you stored substances gave rise to a risk of harm to people and property, and was an offence under section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883. 

You have also pled guilty to taking or permitting to be taken or making, and possessing, child pornography.  Three electronic devices associated with you were searched.  Indecent images of children, mainly females under 14 down to the age of 6, were found on them.  Some of the images were inaccessible, one possible explanation being that they had been deleted after being downloaded and viewed.  Others were accessible.  Some were computer generated, but the majority were not.  The now inaccessible images included 20 category A, 23 category B, and 1145 category C.  There were 304 accessible category C images.  You have pled guilty to taking or permitting to be taken or making, and possessing, indecent images of children.  Child pornography is abhorrent and harmful. 

You have a record of previous convictions spanning nearly 20 years.  While there are a relatively low number of convictions, and they are all at sheriff court level, they involve serious offences such as assault to severe injury with a knife, a Firearms Act offence, threatening and abusive behaviour, and attempted wilful fireraising. Concerningly, one of your previous convictions is for possessing indecent images of children. 

I have taken into account the criminal justice social work report which I ordered.  The assessor explained the unusual circumstances of your previous offending.  The assessor found in relation to the explosives charge that there was no information to suggest you had intended to cause harm to others.  However, you had engaged in hazardous activity and there was a risk of serious harm to others should substances have ignited.  The recklessness of your behaviour, together with some of your previous behaviour, suggest that you have the potential inadvertently to cause serious harm to others.  In relation to the indecent images charge, the assessor found children may indirectly have been caused harm, and you were assessed as a medium risk of reconviction for further sexual offences. 

I have also taken into account everything said on your behalf in mitigation.  You have some qualifications from school and studied at college for further qualifications.  I also note your feelings of isolation from a young age, your mental health and other issues, your problems with alcohol misuse, and the progress you have made while on remand in prison. 

You are a 37 year old man who clearly has abilities and skills.  It gives me no pleasure to be sentencing you today for further offences.  It is a shame you have chosen to waste your abilities by acting illegally in these ways.  

There is no suggestion that the explosives offence had any connection with terrorism.  You also pled guilty to these offences at an early opportunity, and that will reduce the sentence I will impose on you.

Nevertheless, the courts take seriously the potential for harm posed by explosive substances, and the need for deterrence.  The courts also recognise that child pornography is a form of child sexual exploitation and is harmful. I have taken into account that you have not previously been sentenced to imprisonment or detention, but given the nature and seriousness of the crimes of which you have been convicted no method of dealing with you other than custody is appropriate. 

In respect of the indecent images charges, and taking into account your previous analogous conviction, I sentence you in cumulo to 20 months imprisonment, reduced from 30 months for your guilty plea. I sentence you to a consecutive sentence on the explosive substances charge, of 24 months imprisonment, reduced from 3 years for your guilty plea, together with a supervised release order for a further 12 months.  Having regard to the nature of the offence and your record of previous convictions, I consider that it is necessary to impose the supervised release order in order to protect the public from serious harm from you on your release.  This order means that you will be under the supervision of the local authority.   During that period after your release from custody, you will report to the supervising officer allocated to supervise you in a manner and at intervals specified by him or her; you will keep your supervising officer informed of your current address and you will comply with any other requirement he or she may reasonably specify. If you breach the order, you may be brought back to court and returned to custody for all or any part of a period equal to that between the date of your first breach of the order and the date when your supervision would expire. Your sentence will be backdated to 22 April 2024 when you were first remanded in custody.