A NURSE who claimed that children being sexually abused in a vile stash of images found at his home were “willing participants” has been caged for downloading and sharing the banned filth with other perverts.

Married dad Stewart Taylor spent three years amassing a sordid collection of 500 images of children being sexually abused and then shared them with other perverts online from his home in Paisley’s Castle Gardens.

Taylor, who was forced to resign from his job in a care home when his deviant interests came to light, satisfied his disgusting urges while his wife was at work and kids were at school.

The 50-year-old tried to excuse his desires by claiming the children in the images – which showed girls and boys aged between five and 14 being molested – had been on board with the abuse.

But he was slammed by a sheriff and left shell-shocked when he was jailed for 27 months and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years for his crimes.

Earlier this year, Stewart pleaded guilty to two charges of committing offences brought under Section 52 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

He admitted his guilt during a pre-trial hearing and sentence was deferred for him to be assessed by social workers and specialists who work with an organisation which helps Renfrewshire sex offenders to change their ways.

Taylor admitted downloading the images between September 5, 2013, and September 22, 2016.

He also admitted sharing the illegal images online between September 5, 2013, and March 10 last year.

He had hoped to be given a non-custodial sentence when he returned to the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court last week to learn his fate.

But Sheriff Colin Pettigrew ruled he had no choice but to lock Taylor up.

He slammed Taylor for the “pain, discomfort and fear suffered” by the children in the images he downloaded and shared.

Sheriff Pettigrew also blasted Taylor’s view that some of the children had been “willing” to be molested, adding: “That is totally false.

“These are not selfies taken by individuals. A number of the images involved coercion of the victims.

“Each picture represents the serious abuse of the child depicted.

“You must have responsibility for the abuse suffered by the victims because you are creating a demand.

“I take into account the age and vulnerability of the children – some were as young as four or five.

“You did this when your own wife was at work and your children were at school and had password protection on your devices.

“For you, sir, at this time, for these offences, a custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal.”

Detective Inspector Tom Carty, from the Public Protection Unit based in Renfrew, has welcomed the sentence.

He said: “Stewart Taylor is now facing years in prison for carrying out a series of very disturbing offences from the comfort of his own home.

“The message is clear – if you are involved in downloading or viewing indecent images of children, you cannot hide behind a computer.

“There are many ways in which we can identify these depraved activities and we will catch you.”