August 2013
City high-flier pleads guilty to having child abuse pictures on his laptop
POLICE found child abuse pictures on the laptop of a high-flying city whizzkid when they raided his flat.
Matthew Smith quit his highly-paid job advising wealthy clients on how to invest their riches after being caught with the sickening images.
Aberdeen-born Smith, 24, pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court last Friday to 13 charges of possessing indecent photographs of girls, aged between seven and 12, at his west London flat in May last year.
Some of the images were at level five – the most extreme category of child abuse images.
Judge Philip Matthews sentenced St Andrews University graduate Smith to a three-year community order, which includes attending a sex offenders’ group programme. He was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
Smith was also told to sign a sexual offenders prevention order, which requires him to make his internet history available to police.
The court heard that Smith worked for independent financial advisers Saunderson House in London. After police seized his computer, he was suspended by his employers.
He later resigned and returned to Aberdeen. Smith now works for financial planners Medical & Dental in the city.
