A man who raped a 12-year-old girl while on bail accused of having sex with two 13-year-olds has been jailed for six years.

Alexander Mitchell, 23, lured the 12-year-old into his bed and raped her.

Jailing Mitchell at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, judge Lord Boyd told him: "You asked a 12-year-old girl to climb in your bedroom window and took advantage of her and raped her.

"At the time you were on bail for having sex with two 13-year-olds. You have an obvious interest in under-age girls."

He was handed a 12 month sentence in 2014 for having sex with the two underage girls. Mitchell returned to court after his release in relation to the rape of the 12-year-old and was jailed again on Friday.

Mitchell, of Dornoch, in the Highlands, contacted his latest victim through social media, arranged to meet her and encouraged her to enter his house through a window, despite being bailed on the condition that he avoid all contact with girls under 16.

Police were alerted that a young girl had climbed through a window and when Mitchell answered the door he appeared to be nervous.

Advocate depute Ian Wallace said that Mitchell had appeared pale, sweaty and fidgety but had claimed there was no one else in the house.

Officers spotted the girl in a bedroom but she claimed she and Mitchell had just been talking and smoking cigarettes.

In March last year, she revealed that Mitchell had raped her during her visit in June 2014. She said she had not told police at the time because she was "scared of getting into trouble", the court heard.

Mitchell admitted raping the girl when she was 12 at a house near Invergordon, Ross-shire. He has a number of previous convictions for sexual offences.

Defence counsel Lorraine Glancy said Mitchell had expressed his remorse in a letter, which she handed to Lord Boyd.

Ms Glancy said: "Since the incident he has had no further contact with his victim. He is now a 23-year-old man. He knows what he did was wrong."

She said that at the time of the rape Mitchell was 20 and had taken to misusing alcohol and drugs after the death of a friend.

Mitchell showed no emotion as he was led away to begin his sentence.

Lord Boyd said that he would have jailed Mitchell for nine years, but for his guilty plea.

He also ordered Mitchell, who is assessed as posing a high risk to young girls, to be monitored in the community for two years after his release. Mitchell was also placed on the sex offenders' register.