A nurse caught with a range of child abuse, beastiality and extreme porn videos facing jail.

A nurse from Dundee caught with a range of child abuse, beastiality and “extreme” porn videos is facing jail.

Duncan Trueland, who was a forensic psychiatric nurse for NHS Tayside, downloaded more than 600 videos on his computer at his home in the city’s Lawers Road over a four-year period.

Police uncovered the images after raiding his home last August. Trueland originally claimed he did not know the animal sex images were illegal, but confessed after officers said they would have to interview his ill wife when he initially refused to comment on the crimes.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard Trueland, who no longer works for the Tayside health board, is now seeing a "forensic sexologist".

In his role with the health board Trueland worked with vulnerable people with severe mental disorders, often criminals or victims of violent or sexual crimes.

Fiscal depute Isma Mukhtar said: "Police received intelligence as part of a nationwide operation and a search warrant was granted.

"Police arrived and the accused led them into the dining room where he went to the computer and minimised a chat window as an officer took hold of his arm.

"He was taken to police HQ and initially gave a no comment interview, but when officers said they would have to interview his wife he said he would make a voluntary statement.

"He told officers 'If I'm brutally honest I think I can't help it'. He said he was impotent because of his diabetes and it was a habit and he was just going through the motions.

"In total 583 videos depicting indecent images of children were found. There were 601 videos of beastiality and 44 extreme porn videos depicting extreme bondage, rape and sexual abuse.

"The total running time for the videos was 11 days, 18 hours, six minutes and 21 seconds."

The 57-year-old, now of Thorters Way, Dundee, pleaded guilty on indictment to three charges under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act.

He admitted downloading child abuse images between June 29 2008 and August 8 2012 and possessing them with a view to distributing them between the same dates. He further admitted possessing extreme pornographic images on August 8 2012.

Anne Johnston, defending, said: "He is 57 and a retired psychiatric nurse. Since these offences he has been at a group work programme and has seen an expert in forensic sexology."

Sheriff Richard Davidson deferred sentence for background reports until next month and placed Trueland on the sex offenders register.

He said: "I have no doubt this is a huge personal tragedy for you to be discovered and brought in to the public arena but that seems to be the only way of putting a stop to this vile trade.

"I'm always struck by the misery depicted on the faces of the children concerned in these and I'm at a complete loss as to how someone of clear intelligence like you can get themselves in to this kind of situation."

It is understood Trueland retired from his job at NHS Tayside after the offences came to light.  STVNews