Christopher Morrison — who groped a four-year-old boy in an Asda toilet — sighed and rolled his eyes in the dock of the town’s sheriff court during a custody hearing into his latest offence.

The Telegraph revealed last month how Morrison, 22, was living in the immediate vicinity of the Kelly Street Children’s Centre, following his early release from prison.

He was staying in a neighbouring flat there when police on a monitoring visit last November discovered a disgusting child abuse image on his mobile phone.

But despite being returned to jail to serve out his whole sentence for the Asda attack as a result, Morrison has already applied to be released on parole.

And he can request annually to be set free from prison and be returned to living within the community.

Defence lawyer Ellen Macdonald confirmed: “He has made an application for release to the parole board and it was refused. He can re-apply on an annual basis.” Prosecutors have now lodged a motion for Morrison to be subject to a seven-point sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) should he be successful in any of his appeals to be liberated before his June 2019 release date.

Morrison has been recalled to prison until then because he was on licence and also subject to an extended sentence of monitoring within the community under SOPO conditions.

The court heard previously how police had turned up unannounced at his Kelly Street bolthole and seized a black-coloured Alcatel mobile phone from him.

Prosecutor Lindy Scaife said: “The image showed a group of naked adults and children, with one adult appearing to be touching one of the children.

“On being cautioned and charged he replied, ‘Naw’.” The court was told that the picture had been graded at Level 3 in terms of the law, which puts the most disturbing images at Level 5.

Morrison made national headlines in 2013 when he was jailed for assaulting a four-year-old boy in an Asda in Clydebank.

Judge Lord Bracadale told him at the time: “You have no previous convictions but it is clear from the risk assessment report there is a serious background here.” The young victim had been out with his mother and grandmother when he went to the supermarket’s toilet on his own.

Morrison — who was already there — didn’t say anything to the boy, but gestured for him to be quiet by putting his finger to his own mouth. He then indecently assaulted the boy before hurrying away from the scene.

Sheriff Derek Hamilton said that any sentence he passed for the indecent image offence in Greenock would have ‘limited or no effect’ due to Morrison being back in prison for the next four years.

The sheriff marked the case with a six-month prison terms, granted the SOPO order and placed Morrison on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

Morrison made a series of disinterested facial expressions and shook his head as he was led away.