The first of a pair of Angus twins has been sentenced for having sex with the same 13-year-old girl.
Nathan Mitchell was handed two years of detention, a week before his brother Darren is due back in court to learn his own fate.
During an appearance at Forfar Sheriff Court on Thursday, Sheriff Kevin Veal told the 19-year-old: ”Consent of a 13-year-old girl cannot be given and that is the bottom line.”
He added: ”Having regard to all the factors which I have already set out, I am without hesitation of the opinion that the only possible disposal in this case must be one of immediate custody.
”I wish to ensure that the wider public and community will be adequately protected against serious harm from you after your release.”
The court previously heard the twins had befriended the girl before taking her back to Nathan Mitchell’s home for sex, on October 10. Both brothers have since admitted the offence during separate court appearances.
Nathan Mitchell had been considered a ”low risk” in the lead up to the incident, despite being on the sex offenders register, and had only been resident at the address for six days after moving out of his family home.
Described as a prisoner at Polmont Young Offenders’ Institution, he had been on remand since he was first arrested on October 12.
Mitchell’s defence agent said his client had made a ”full and frank admission”, adding that he was aware he was facing a custodial term.
Following his release from Rossie Secure Unit, he will be under licence for an extension period of one year.
The conditions will be fixed by the Scottish Government, but will involve heavy supervision and he will be forbidden to mix with children under the age of 16 without approval. He was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
Depute fiscal Hannah Kennedy delivered an agreed narration in the case during its last calling on January 19, revealing that Nathan Mitchell was previously placed on probation for three years in August 2008 for lewd and libidinous behaviour.
Darren Mitchell had also been on the sex offenders register prior to the offence involving the girl.
The victim is classed as a ”vulnerable” person and on the day of the incident had returned home from a family holiday and had self-harmed. She met the twins at a bus stop and was engaged in conversation, at which point she told them her age.
The girl firstly had intercourse and carried out sex acts in a bedroom with Darren Mitchell, after which his brother entered and had sex with her.
Police became involved when her mother reported her missing and inquiries led officers to the flat around 1.15am the next morning.
The teenager was found hiding in a bedroom cupboard. As officers progressed the investigation, the victim wrote on a piece of paper that she had slept with both of the twins.
Both men were initially facing a possible rape charge before the consensual circumstances of the incident became apparent.