Freddie Scappaticci, the man widely named as the British army's notorious IRA agent 'Stakeknife', has avoided prison after pleading guilty to possession of extreme pornography.
The 72-year-old appeared briefly at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London today to admit two counts of possessing extreme pornographic images under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
He was given a suspended prison sentence after a magistrate cited his "good character".
The charges span from October 2015 to January this year and the court heard they relate to at least 329 images, including some involving animals.
There were no images involving children.
Wearing a blue fleece and green tracksuit bottoms, Scappaticci spoke to enter his guilty pleas.
Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot sentenced him to three months in custody, suspended for 12 months.
She said: "You have not been before the court for 50 years - and that's good character in my book.
"I can see you are not a well man at all - you have very serious health issues - and that you live a lonely life."
Scappaticci has always strongly denied claims that he was Stakeknife, a high-ranking military mole who led the IRA's internal security unit which interrogated and murdered suspected spies during the Troubles.
He was arrested by police in January about offences including murder and abduction but was released on bail.
Westminster Magistrates' Court heard that Scappaticci told police he was not sexually interested in animals, and preferred women with big breasts.
He told them he was "not doing anyone any real harm" and said he had depression.
The court heard he used his laptop to search for areas of interests, including "cars, the British army, maps, combat, football, politics", but that he also searched for pornography.
He conducted a number of searches on a total of 13 different days between November 2015 and January 2018.
Scappaticci was ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge and £85 costs.
The material was seized as part of Operation Kenova, which is investigating the activities of Stakeknife and those who handled the informer including the abduction, torture and murder of dozens of people by the IRA dating back to the 1970s.
An independent team of detectives began investigating after former director of public prosecutions Barra McGrory referred multiple allegations to the PSNI, who decided to call in an external force.
Read more:
- Stakeknife investigators contact senior republicans about IRA murders
- Father loses court case against Scappaticci
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, who leads the investigation, said: “Today’s conviction came about as a result of material recovered during a search conducted by the Kenova team. This result is an indication that wherever criminal behaviour is identified during my investigation, evidence will be presented for the purposes of prosecution.
“Operation Kenova continues to recover evidence in relation to our core terms of reference and as and when it is appropriate to speak further, I will do so.
“I would encourage anyone who might be able to assist with this important inquiry to please contact my team via the details on the Kenova website, or by calling Crimestoppers.”
