A HOTEL manager who recorded himself sexually abusing a sleeping child has been sentenced to an extended six-year prison sentence and placed on the sex offenders' register for life.

Anthony McKnight, 38, made the videos of him attacking the young boy before sending the recordings to online perverts he was in contact with.

McKnight was caught with the images after police had received intelligence he had downloaded a haul of child abuse pictures and videos, and raided his home on Hepburn Road in Haddington earlier this year.

A phone and two laptops were seized during the search and officers discovered that McKnight was in possession of about 5,000 pictures and films depicting children – including newborn babies – being sexually abused by adults.

Anthony McKnight. Image: Facebook

Specialist officers also found images of children being forced to engage in sexual acts with animals, along with the videos and pictures of him sexually abusing the child.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that the “first-generation” recordings had been taken by McKnight on his mobile phone after he had met the child while on holiday in Wales in December last year.

Prosecutor Matthew Millar said that online chat logs were also recovered which showed that McKnight had shared the footage of him attacking the boy with others he was in contact with.

McKnight appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this month to plead guilty to three charges of possessing, taking or making and distributing indecent images of children between July 7, 2020, and June 7 this year.

READ MORE: Hotel manager recorded himself sexually abusing sleeping child

McKnight was remanded in custody and returned to the dock for sentencing on Tuesday, where Sheriff Alistair Noble told him he had committed “exceptionally grave” offences.

Sheriff Noble said: “Due to the gravity of the offences, a custodial sentence is the only disposal.”

The sheriff jailed McKnight for a total of four years and imposed a licence period for a further two years following his release from custody.

Sheriff Noble also placed McKnight on the sex offenders' register for an indefinite period.

Lawyer Paul Dunne, representing McKnight, said that his client had been in “a coercive relationship” that had “affected his self-esteem and made him feel very isolated” during his period of offending.

McKnight was working as a manager at a hotel in Edinburgh city centre when he was arrested and charged by police following the raid on his home.

His latest conviction came two years after he was caught stealing cash from a terminally ill pensioner while employed as the man’s carer.

READ MORE: Camera trap caught carer stealing from terminally ill pensioner, 84

He was caught after the victim’s daughter set up a camera trap after she noticed her father was either “misplacing or losing” small sums of money.

The subsequent footage captured McKnight stealing from the money from the man he was caring for on June 21, 2021, and he was subsequently reported to the police.

McKnight was fined £110 and ordered to pay compensation of £100 during an appearance at Edinburgh Justice of the Peace Court in December 2022.