
Woman shared videos of her molesting boy and sexually abusing dog
Sylvia Carroll, 42, was told by judge Lady Poole on Friday that her actions were 'disgraceful' following a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh.
The court had heard how Sylvia possessed extreme pornographic images which depicted in an 'explicit and realistic' way 'sexual activity between a person and dogs and horses'.
The court also heard Sylvia sexually abused a boy under the age of ten.
She took indecent photographs of the child and distributed them via the Snapchat and WhatsApp messaging apps.
Her partner Ian Carroll, 41, possessed extreme pornographic images 'depicting in an explicit and realistic' way sexual activity between a 'person and dogs, horses and pigs'.
Ian, who works as a delivery driver, then made video recordings of Sylvia engaging in sexual activity with a dog.
In February 2024, Police Scotland received confidential information that the user of a Kik social media account associated with an IP address relating to the accused's home in Fife had uploaded indecent material to the Internet
Officers carried out a forensic investigation and seized 34 electronic devices belonging to the couple.
They found hundreds of videos and images which depicted 'extreme pornography'.
Detectives also found a WhatsApp thread on Sylvia's phone in which she exchanged 17,000 messages with a 'contact'.
The court heard that officers discovered that in the messages, Sylvia 'contemporaneously described' sexually abusing the little boy.
The messages also contained videos which showed the abuse taking place.
Judge Lady Poole remanded Sylvia, a first offender, and Ian, who has one previous conviction, in custody.
Background reports were ordered to be prepared for a hearing which will be held later this year.
The couple pleaded guilty to a number of serious offences.
'What you have done is repugnant to society,' she said.
'This applies particularly to you Sylvia Carroll. Your behaviour has been appalling and disgraceful.'
The offences took place in Fife between July 2021 and March 2024.
They both arrived to court covering their faces with masks, hoods, hats and sun glasses.
On March 7, 2024, police carried out a search of the couple's home. At the time Sylvia was at home and Ian returned from his work.
His mobile phone was seized from him and he provided the passcode for this to the officers, the court heard.
Sylvia, while still under caution, told officers about some of the videos.
'Following initial examination of these devices, it was clear that both accused were in possession of high numbers of extreme pornography,' prosecutor Leanne Cross told the court.
Sylvia's phone contained 383 files categorised as 'extreme pornography', Ian's phone contained 247 files in the same category.
On August 28, 2024, Sylvia Carroll was taken to Dunfermline Police Station and interviewed under caution.
'During interview, she admitted to being responsible for all messages and media present on or sent from her mobile phone and social media accounts to the users in question,' the prosecution said.
'She accepted that she had filmed/photographed created all the indecent videos and imagery present on her device.'
Ian Carroll's defence solicitor advocate Peter Robertson asked for his client to be given bail ahead of his sentencing hearing next month.
Sylvia's solicitor advocate Gordon Martin told the court that his client suffered from poor mental health.
He said he was not making an application for bail as Sylvia knew she would eventually receive a lengthy prison sentence.
He added: 'She knows she is going to be punished and she deserves to be punished.'
Lady Poole remanded the pair in custody. The case will next call at the High Court in Edinburgh on September 26, 2025.
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Record
4 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Couple die as car plummets off cliff 'while they were making love inside'
The pair were found completely naked, not far from the wreckage. Police claim a couple who died when their car tumbled over the edge of a cliff were making love inside the vehicle when the incident happened. Adriana Machado Ribeiro and Marcone da Silva Cardoso had been out partying with Marcone's brother and his girlfriend last Sunday night. After dropping other couple home, Adriana, 42, and Marcone, 26, drove to a hang-gliding launch ramp. But they were killed when their car plummeted off a 1,300ft cliff around 1am on August 4. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. After the car had fallen for about 100 metres the motor hit the ground throwing Adriana and Marcone from the vehicle – likely after it smacked into a struck a rock. The car continued rolling for another 300 metres before coming to a halt completely smashed up. The pair were found completely naked, not far from the wreckage in Venda Nova do Imigrante, south-eastern Brazil. Police officer Alberto Roque Peres who is leading the investigation surrounding the couple's death's has said there's no evidence of foul play so far. The Daily Star reports that the officer told local media: 'There were no signs of violence at the scene or on the bodies, and the car's handbrake was engaged.' Investigators suspect the couple's movements inside the parked vehicle caused it to shift and tumble over the cliff edge. The car was discovered on private property around 7am by a caretaker clearing the land. The officer said: 'Residents reported hearing a loud noise between 1.30am and 2am., but because it was dark and the vegetation was thick, no one saw anything at the time.' Marcone's body was found at the foot of the cliff while a team of firefighters had to navigate treacherous terrain to retrieve Adriana's remains. The pair had been together for around six months. Marcone, originally hailing from Belo Horizonte, had recently moved to Venda Nova do Imigrante and worked as a machine operator. Adriana had dedicated 16 years of her life working in her mum's bakery. She leaves behind a son and a daughter from a previous relationship.


Daily Record
4 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Couple die as car plummets off cliff while they were making love inside
The pair were found completely naked, not far from the wreckage in Venda Nova do Imigrante, south-eastern Brazil. Police claim a couple who died when their car tumbled over the edge of a cliff were making love inside the vehicle when the incident happened. Adriana Machado Ribeiro and Marcone da Silva Cardoso had been out partying with Marcone's brother and his girlfriend last Sunday night. After dropping other couple home, Adriana, 42, and Marcone, 26, drove to a hang-gliding launch ramp. But they were killed when their car plummeted off a 1,300ft cliff around 1am on August 4. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. After the car had fallen for about 100 metres the motor hit the ground throwing Adriana and Marcone from the vehicle – likely after it smacked into a struck a rock. The car continued rolling for another 300 metres before coming to a halt completely smashed up. The pair were found completely naked, not far from the wreckage in Venda Nova do Imigrante, south-eastern Brazil. Police officer Alberto Roque Peres who is leading the investigation surrounding the couple's death's has said there's no evidence of foul play so far. The Daily Star reports that the officer told local media: 'There were no signs of violence at the scene or on the bodies, and the car's handbrake was engaged.' Investigators suspect the couple's movements inside the parked vehicle caused it to shift and tumble over the cliff edge. The car was discovered on private property around 7am by a caretaker clearing the land. The officer said: 'Residents reported hearing a loud noise between 1.30am and 2am., but because it was dark and the vegetation was thick, no one saw anything at the time.' Marcone's body was found at the foot of the cliff while a team of firefighters had to navigate treacherous terrain to retrieve Adriana's remains. The pair had been together for around six months. Marcone, originally hailing from Belo Horizonte, had recently moved to Venda Nova do Imigrante and worked as a machine operator. Adriana had dedicated 16 years of her life working in her mum's bakery. She leaves behind a son and a daughter from a previous relationship.


Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Nicola was treated appallingly by the police over fraud probe insists close friend and crime writer Val McDermid
Nicola Sturgeon 's close friend the crime writer Val McDermid has launched an astonishing attack on Police Scotland, accusing the force of treating the former First Minister 'appallingly'. The long-time friend of the former first minister took aim at police as extracts of Ms Sturgeon's upcoming memoirs revealed the 'mental torture' she said she endured during the probe into the SNP 's finances. In the first extract of the book published by the Times, Ms Sturgeon describes how she felt like she had 'fallen into the plot of a dystopian novel' and was gripped by despair when she was arrested in connection with the investigation. Although she was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, Ms Sturgeon also said the experience of her husband Mr Murrell being rearrested and charged was like a nightmare without end. Giving her own take on the two year police investigation into her friend, Ms McDermid said: 'She's been treated appallingly by Police Scotland - and by the media, outside Scotland and inside.' Ms McDermid, who has been friends for the last decade with Ms Sturgeon, has also jumped to her friend's defence over the way she feels the ex SNP leader has been treated and has claimed mysogyny is at the root of the problem. She told the Daily Telegraph: 'I've seen some of the stuff she gets poured on her head and it's horrible. You would not say that to your wife or your sister – but to say it to a complete stranger seems to be acceptablae. 'It is misogynistic. Any woman in Scottish politics will tell you the same thing. I have friends who have left politics because of it. I have friends who grit their teeth and go into work every day and put up with it. It is not just Nicola who is the victim of this.' However, the impending publication of Ms Sturgeon's autobiography - Frankly - has already drawn the ire of one of Ms Sturgeon's female detractors - former SNP MP Joanna Cherry. Writing in the Daily Mail, Ms Cherry suggested that she does not expect the former first minister to answer questions that many Scots would want her to. For instance, she said many women as well as lesbian, gay and bisexual people 'will want to know why she was happy to throw our rights under the bus in the name of identity politics'. In concluding her opinion piece, she had added: 'I very much doubt the answers to any of these questions will be in Nicola Sturgeon's autobiography.' Ms McDermid and Ms Sturgeon have been friends ever since the crime writer was interviewed by the former first minister at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Ms McDermid invited Ms Sturgeon and her then husband Peter Murrell to dinner first 'to break the ice' she said, and the evening went to so well the guests stayed until after midnight. In January, The Mail revealed Ms Sturgeon had been spending time at a luxury £320,000 flat owned by McDermid and her wife. The former First Minister was spotted leaving the property in Edinburgh's upmarket New Town as her relationship with her husband broke down. That same month, Ms Sturgeon revealed she and Mr Murrell had separated, stating: 'To all intents and purposes we have been separated for some time now and feel it is time to bring others up to speed with where we are.' In the interview, Ms McDermid also shot down speculation that she failed to publish a new novel last year because she was too busy writing Ms Sturgeon's soon to be published memoir, Frankly, to focus on her own work. She said: 'I did not help with it. She did it herself. Truly.' The 70-year-old author instead said the reason she didn't publish a book last year was because she was having back surgery to treat spinal stenosis, which causes intense back pain. Operation Branchform was launched in July 2021 to look into how more than £600,000 of crowdfunding was used by the party - and became one of the longest-running fraud investigations in Police Scotland's history. Former party chief executive Peter Murrell, his wife and former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon along with ex-SNP treasurer Colin Beattie were all investigated by detectives as part of the four-year probe. In March it emerged Ms Sturgeon and Mr Beattie would not face charges over the investigation. Mr Murrell appeared in private at Edinburgh Sheriff Court that same month charged with embezzlement and was bailed after making no plea. He is now rarely seen in public, while Ms Sturgeon has focused on writing her memoir and book reviews.