A 61-year-old Dingwall man who was unanimously found guilty of 11 charges of physical and sexual abuse at Inverness Sheriff Court last month had sentence deferred until next month.
Arnold Robert, of 43 Deas Avenue, had sentence deferred for a background report and had his bail continued.
But Sheriff David Sutherland was told that the social work department needed more time to complete their report on the wheel-chair bound offender.
Robert was not present when the case was adjourned once more until November 12. However Sheriff Sutherland indicated that sentence may not be passed on that day if even more time was required by social workers.
The week-long trial was dramatically interrupted later in the week when Robert fell ill. Paramedics treated him in the court building and their vehicle before taking him to the accident and emergency unit of Raigmore Hospital.
Doctors there assessed him as fit to continue. Robert returned to court the following day and the case resumed.
The jury took almost an hour to return a unanimous guilty verdict on all charges. Robert had denied six physical assaults, a breach of the peace and one of possessing cannabis, involving one adult and several children.