Oil worker abused two young girls

The girls were eight when abuse began, the court heard

An oil worker abused two girls who were left in his care while their mother went out to play bingo, a court heard.

Thomas Watt, 52, from Culloden, near Inverness, was told by a judge at the High Court in Edinburgh that he faced a jail term after admitting the abuse.

One of the girls was abused between 1986 and 1994 and the other between 1992 and 2000. They were both eight-years-old when the abuse began.

Judge Lord Bannatyne deferred sentence for background reports.

Watt was put on the sex offenders register and remanded in custody.

'Clear head'

The offshore deck co-ordinator admitted four charges of lewd and indecent behaviour involving the victims at addresses in Inverness-shire.

His victims continue to be affected by his actions, the court heard.

Advocate depute Alison Di Rollo said one, who is now 31-years-old, was left with feelings of insecurity.

She said: "Her relationship with her husband has suffered.

"She was prescribed anti-depressants but does not want to take them because she needs a clear head to look after her children."

The court heard that one of the girls contacted the charity Childline when she was aged 11, but did not offer much detail and was afraid to go to the police at the time.

It was only as an adult that she reported the abuse to the authorities in 2007.

Lord Bannatyne told Watt: "I think this matter is of such seriousness that really a prison sentence is absolutely inevitable."