A DANGEROUS teenage sex predator 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 pleaded 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.

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