A paedophile who directed sex attacks on girls in the Philippines from his home in the Scottish Highlands has been jailed for 12 years.

Gary Campbell, 59, paid for abuse to be carried out by adults as he watched and recorded it on the internet from his home in Lochinver in Sutherland.

Campbell’s youngest victim was thought to have been four years old.

He admitted 13 charges including rape, assault, and inciting children to become providers of sexual services.

A the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Beckett said: “Over a period of more than two years you were intermittently sexually corrupting young children.

“You will appreciate these are grave crimes indeed, for which there is no alternative to a prison sentence.”

Campbell’s crimes were committed between June 2012 and August 2014.

The high court heard that police raided his home in May 2021 as part of a child sex abuse investigation.

It was triggered by the discovery that he had made a series of payments to a Filipino woman after she was arrested for livestreaming child sexual abuse online.

Officers found recorded videos which showed Campbell watching sexual assaults being committed on children in “real time” and giving instructions to the adults carrying out the abuse.

Advocate depute Margaret Barron told the court a number of devices were seized from Campbell’s home and found to contain child sexual abuse material.

Campbell, a former retained firefighter now living in Perth, was also put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Lord Beckett also ordered that he should be under supervision for a further three years – during which he can be returned to jail if he breaches licence conditions.

Lord Beckett told him he would have faced a 15-year prison term but for his guilty pleas.

Speaking after the sentencing, Det Ch Insp Michael Smith of Police Scotland’s specialist crime division, said Gary Campbell was a “dangerous predator” who took advantage of some of the most vulnerable people in the Philippines.

He said: “The extent and nature of his offending is utterly appalling. He will now face the consequences of his despicable actions in prison.

“Protecting children online and offline is an absolute priority for Police Scotland and we are committed to building safer virtual communities for everyone.”

Fraser Gibson, Scotland’s procurator fiscal for High Court sexual offences, said Campbell was complicit and instrumental in appalling crimes against children.

He added: “Gary Campbell was actively involved in a paedophile network in which children were abused for money and on-request.

“The girls assaulted and raped in the Philippines were vulnerable young children suffering dreadful abuse and exploitation.”