A serial sex attacker could soon be back on the streets of Angus.
Rapist Scott Watson (39) can seek release after appeal judges cut his minimum sentence, and government policy may force Angus Council to house him if he does return.
Watson (39) had already carried out two sex attacks in Angus when he was jailed for life in 2005 for trying to rape a girl in Arbroath.
Watson served five years of an eight-year sentence after committing a rape on a 28-year-old woman and the indecent assault of a 17-year-old girl, both in Montrose.
At the time of the Arbroath attack, Watson was housed by Angus Council in a homeless unit in Guthrie Hill.
Angus councillor Jim Millar said: ”It is disgusting that this individual, having been let out early previously for committing these sickening crimes, goes on to attempt another horrific sexual assault, and it is a disgrace that his sentence has been reduced in this way.”
He added: ”We need to know if Watson still presents a danger to women, and what procedures will be put into place in order to ensure he does not reoffend.”
The 15-year-old girl, a stranger, was walking along West Abbey Street in Arbroath in broad daylight when Watson attacked her. When she tried to escape, he caught her and punched her in the face.
The court heard how he pushed his screaming victim through a gate and dragged her behind a caravan in a carport. After the attack, he smeared the terrified girl with soil in an attempt to destroy evidence.
He repeatedly threatened to kill her if she reported him.
His defence lawyer said Watson’s fantasies about women coupled with drink made him a danger.
A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh ordered that Watson should serve at least seven and a half years in jail under a life sentence later imposed following the Arbroath sex attack.
But he challenged the punishment part and judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh have ruled that the minimum period he must spend in prison before becoming eligible to seek parole should be four and a half years.
The appeal was heard by the Lord Justice General, Lord Hamilton, sitting with Lord Drummond Young and Lord Wheatley.