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A convicted sex offender who assaulted a young boy molested another teenager after pouncing on him in a supermarket toilet.

Gavin Murray targeted his latest victim as he washed his hands, a court heard.

Murray had previously been locked up for eight years in 1985 for abducting a 13-year-old boy and dragging him into woods near Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire.

He ordered the victim to strip before indecently assaulting him.

Murray dug a grave, forced the boy to lie between sheets of polythene and started to cover him with earth, the Daily Record reports.

(Image: Google Streetview)

When the boy managed to escape, Murray chased him and struck him repeatedly with a hammer.

The court heard the younger lad was washing his hands in a toilet in a Tesco in Bellshill when he was assaulted.

Murray, now 55, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Friday and admitted sexually assaulting the 16-year-old boy at Tesco supermarket on December 28.

Neil Thomson, prosecuting, said: “The accused approached and grabbed him in the groin area, touching his testicles over his clothing.

“The boy was taken aback and started shouting at the accused.

“This alerted the boy’s friend, who was in a cubicle.

“He emerged from the cubicle to find the accused blocking his friend’s exit.

“The older boy challenged Murray, who headbutted him in the face.

“The sexual assault victim fled from the toilet and alerted security staff. It appears the older boy then struck the accused, knocking him to the ground.

“He was still on the floor when the police arrived and was taken to hospital for treatment to a small cut on his head.”

Thomson said the older boy was not injured, but added: “His friend was extremely alarmed and concerned by the behaviour of the accused towards him.”

Sheriff Thomas Millar deferred sentence until next month for a criminal justice social work report and a risk assessment.

Murray, who was remanded in custody, has also been placed on the sex offenders’ register.