Teen attacked 7 year-old boy in a Lennoxtown graveyard

A teenager carried out a horrific attack on a seven year-old boy after tight restrictions on his movements were eased.

The 16 year-old pretended to be a police officer before pouncing on his victim in a graveyard in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire.

He went on to choke his terrified victim and warned he would kill him if he told anyone about the abuse.

A judge heard how the schoolboy was described as “freaking out” by a woman who found him.

The shocking crime emerged as the teenager appeared at the High Court in Glasgow where he pled guilty to the sex attack.

He was able to strike in June this year despite a history of “sexualised behaviour”.

He had been placed under the round-the-clock watch of an organisation called Care Visions.

This involved him being placed in a residential unit close to where the attack occurred.

But, in November last year, the 16 year-old molested another teenage boy while they were playing a games console.

There were also further allegations of him sexually assaulting other boys.

The teenager's movements at the unit were described initially as “very restricted” and “supervised”.

However, on May 25 this year – weeks before the seven year-old was attacked – this was changed.

This was after a 'vulnerable young person' meeting.

Prosecutor Stewart Ronnie told the court: “Given he had now reached 16 and that for the previous three months there were no reports of sexualised behaviour, it was decided he be given two hours a day unsupervised time to himself.”

This then allowed him to prowl in the grounds of a local primary school around 6pm on June 14.

The teenager – who had to be “contactable” by phone - claimed to his carers he was going to a library.

The 16 year-old watched as a group of children – including the victim – played football at the school.

One of the youngsters later noticed his mobile phone was missing.

Mr Ronnie said: “He approached the boys and told them he was a policeman.

“He said he had seen a male of about 13 taking the phone from a bag. The male had run off, but he had been too slow to catch him.”

The children tried to find the alleged thief. A parent went on to confront the 16 year-old believing he had the phone.

But, the teenager maintained someone else had taken it.

The children all eventually went home apart from the young victim.

He instead stayed with the 16 year-old to try and find the supposedly missing phone.

The teenager and the boy then entered a deserted graveyard described as “completely obscured” from view.

Mr Ronnie told the court: “It was here he was sexually assaulted.”

The 16 year-old pushed the victim to the ground and knelt over him.

The advocate depute: “He put one of his hands around the boy's neck and started to choke him.”

The teenager went on to attack the helpless and scared child.

Mr Ronnie: “He said to the boy that if he told anyone then he would kill him.”

The boy's worried family meantime had gone out looking for him as he had not returned home.

He initially raced back to the school where a local mum found him.

The prosecutor added: “The boy was unable to talk. He was described as 'freaking out' and trying to get his breath.”

His mum soon arrived and her distressed son repeatedly told her: “He's going to kill me”.

The boy managed to say what had happened before police were alerted.

The 16 year-old's care worker meantime called him – and he claimed he was “walking in woods”.

He was later identified as the attacker.

But, when police turned up the next day at his unit, the teenager initially tried to flee before being found in a field.

The decision to give the teenager “unsupervised” time happened despite him pouncing on a 16 year-old boy in November 2017.

The pair had been playing a computer game at the attacker's care unit when he inappropriately touched his victim.

Police and a social worker were later told about what happened

The 16 year-old also admitted in court to a charge of sexual assault in connection with this incident.

He had faced other allegations, which prosecutors accepted not guilty pleas to.

He was accused of sexually assaulting a 13 year-old boy at a school in Glasgow's east end in 2016.

The teenager was also said to have exposed himself to a 12 year-old boy in late November 2017.

The indictment further listed an allegation that – around the time of the attack on the seven year-old – the pervert had sent a “sexual communication” to another boy.

The 16 year-old will return to court next month. He is currently being kept in a secure unit.