June 2014
Former children’s hospice nurse admits having indecent images
A former male nurse at Rachel House children’s hospice in Kinross has admitted downloading 1,740 indecent images of children.
Stephen McCusker, 47, pleaded guilty to downloading the images between December 2009 and November 2013 at his home on Julian Road, Glenrothes.
McCusker began working as a staff nurse at the hospice, which looks after terminally ill children, in June 2005. He worked there for more than eight years until his offences came to light in November last year.
At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Tuesday, depute fiscal Susan Dickson stated that under police interview McCusker had claimed he was “interested in viewing males and females aged 10 to 16”.
Ms Dickson added: “He admitted he had been viewing material for quite some time. He did the searches while his wife was out at work. He would view the images and then delete them.”
Police forensic officers discovered a total of 1,740 images on McCusker’s computer, rated across levels 1-4, of which 1,047 were unique images.
Ms Dickson stated that the images showed boys and girls aged five to 14 in a state of undress and in sexualised poses.
Police also discovered one video which depicted two boys aged eight to 14 engaging in sexual acts.
Sheriff James Williamson released McCusker on bail and placed him on the sex offenders register.
He deferred sentence until next month for criminal justice social work reports.
Police say there is no evidence that any child using Rachel House, run by Children’s Hospice Association Scotland, had been harmed or involved.
