A SEX offender who attacked a 15-year-old girl in a car park at an Ayrshire golf course has been caught using an online dating app without telling police.

Scott Weir, from Drongan, sexually assaulted the girl near the Gailes Golf Centre in Irvine in 2020.

The 45-year-old was put on the sex offenders register after pleading guilty earlier this year to engaging in sexual activity with the girl and causing her to participate in the lewd acts.

But just days after being put on the register he breached the requirement to reveal any online accounts he was using.

On September 2, 2020, the Trabboch Avenue resident embraced the girl, stroked her hair and neck and induced her to sit on his knee before kissing her on the lips and inserting his tongue into her mouth.

He then touched her legs, pulled down her clothing and sexually assaulted her.

He was spared jail in July, and was instead ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work – the maximum permitted under the law – as part of a three-year community payback order (CPO) which will also see him supervised by social workers.

He was also put on the sex offenders register until June 2026.

But at a hearing at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, Weir admitted failing to notify police of the dating app account within an appropriate timescale – one of the requirements of being put on the order.

He committed the breach between June 13 and 26.

The procurator fiscal depute said police had given Weir information about the notification requirements on June 14, and that he had only told them about a Facebook profile in his name.

Police then asked to inspect Weir’s mobile phone, and found he had been accessing an app called ‘Fab Guys’ – a homosexual dating app - on a regular basis, using an account with the user name of ‘ayrshireguy100999’.

Weir told officers he had “joined for a friend”, and claimed he did not recognise the user name.

But when police investigated in more detail, they discovered Weir had been using the account for five years, and that it had been active on the day he was told about the notification requirements.

Weir’s solicitor told the court his client “had not been completely briefed” on the information he had to disclose to police.

The lawyer said Weir was "regretful" of his action, which were caused by a "misunderstanding", and added that he is now "fully understanding".

Sheriff Mundell said: “Given that this is a first breach I am willing to deal with the matter by way of a fine."

But she warned that in view of the “very high level CPO” handed to Weir in July, if he were to return to court for another breach, “the court would be exploring a prison sentence”.

Weir was fined £320.