A ex-British footballer living in Thailand has been convicted of serious sexual offences after he was arrested while catching a flight at Edinburgh Airport.
Ian Heddle pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday to sexually assaulting a young girl in the South Asia country. The 61-year-old, from Dunfermline, was originally arrested and charged in February 2023 in connection with possessing more than 270,000 indecent photos and videos of children.
Following enquiries it was established that he had also sexually assaulted the young girl in Thailand, believed to be around eight. He was subsequently arrested and charged for the offence in September of the same year - and is now awaiting sentencing on July 9. Heddle was also placed on the sex offenders register.
Heddle played as a midfielder for a number of Scottish clubs in the 1980s and 1990s, including St Johnstone and Dunfermline Athletic. The court heard how Heddle was linked to viewing and uploading of child abuse material from the web, carried out at his home in Scotland 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," reports BBC News.
Investigating officers discovered three videos of him abusing a child as she slept in Chonburi in Thailand in 2019. The court was told that "facial features" could not be identified but Heddle was identified by his finger hairs and wedding ring. "However, the hands were relatively chubby with hairs on his fingers and he was wearing a distinct wedding band," the prosecutor added.
Detective Inspector Adrian Ure of 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.
"We will continue to relentlessly pursue, and proactively investigate, individuals who carry out these heinous crimes. I would also like to reassure our communities that we will investigate all reports of sexual abuse. You will be listened to, and we will support you. I urge anyone who has been the victim of any offence of this nature to contact us on 101 or 999 in an emergency.”