An Angus sex offender’s freedom is in the balance due to a quandary over how to release him back into the community.
Former Brechin resident Craig Gordon befriended a family before showing indecent images to their children last year.
He was due for sentencing at Forfar Sheriff Court on Thursday after also admitting the breach of a sexual harm order.
But his expected release from custody is in jeopardy following a fruitless search for homes for him to go to.
Sheriff Kevin Veal said: “I’m not keen on releasing him back into the community until I know where he’s going.”
He added that the potential for Gordon to have contact with under-16s gave him “cause for concern”, adding it is “a matter of public protection.”
“I will continue this for a further four weeks to try and identify a suitable address,” he said. “It would simply have to be a custodial sentence if there isn’t one by the 24th of April.
“All of the time he has spent in custody already, I’ll take account of but this would be the last throw of the dice,” said the sheriff.
The 18-year-old, a prisoner at the young offenders’ institution HMP Polmont, previously admitted showing sexual images to two boys aged under 13 on October 5 last year, and downloading indecent images of children between February 12 and October 11.
Depute fiscal Hannah Kennedy had said Gordon was taken in by a family over a shared love of motorsport, before neighbours saw him play “pile-up” and hide-and-seek with young girls.
He accused the family of lying over his activities when he was challenged by police and officers found a haul of indecent images on searching his bedroom, after telling the shocked family about his past and discovering Gordon had shown their boys indecent images on his phone.
Police went to Gordon’s address and saw a photo of a young girl on the wall of his bedroom in October last year.
Lifting his mattress, they recovered a pair of girl’s pants as well as adult magazines.
Multiple images were found on his phone similar to those described by the boys, as well as several images showing himself in the company of young girls.
On the laptop indecent images of children were found, as well as images of young children in swimwear and lingerie.
The phone also held photos of Gordon posing with children.
The court also heard Gordon broke the sexual harm order in 2012 by entering playparks and chasing girls under the age of 16.
Sentence was deferred to April 24 for social work inquiries into a suitable address, and Gordon was remanded meanwhile.