A convicted sex offender gave a lift to three teenage girls in breach of a court order hours after escaping a jail sentence in May for a similar offence.
Then when Darren Duncan, a 32-year-old offshore oil worker with Fort William, Nairn and Inverness connections, heard that police were looking for him, he went on the run.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told yesterday that Duncan was eventually traced and arrested at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel to France.
Duncan appeared from custody yesterday and admitted failing to notify police within 72 hours of him forming any kind of relationship with females.
He had been subject to a Sex Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) which imposes strict conditions on sex offenders to guard against possible further offending.
The court heard that on May 10, Duncan was given a community payback order (CPO) for previously breaching a special court condition not to enter Inverness.
He was sentenced by Sheriff Margaret Neilson and he appeared before the same Sheriff again. She told his lawyer, Kevin Connor: “I imposed the sentence and he left the court and then immediately committed this offence. This is the second time he has breached it.”
The court was told by fiscal depute Michelle Molley that Duncan had been jailed in June 2014 at Peterhead for a sex offence involving a 15 year old girl.
The SOPO was granted on October 16 last year and on May 10 this year, he picked up two 16 year old girls in his car after they had been drinking, bought them a take-away and then them drove to Tain.
Ms Molley said that another 16 year old girl joined them and Duncan returned to Inverness where he dropped one of them off at a city address.
“The other two girls contacted him to drive them to Tain and he complied. The police were then informed.” Ms Molley went on.
Mr Connor said: “He is aware that this is becoming more and more serious. But he has no-one else to blame but himself. It would have been easy to inform the police but he didn’t do it.”
Sheriff Neilson deferred sentence for a background report until September 20 as she is required to do by law for offenders on a CPO.
Duncan was again remanded in custody.
