An anguished father, whose son was locked up for an axe attack sent threatening messages wishing “chronic pain” on one of the witnesses who helped jail him.
Gary Dempster’s tracked down the man’s profile on Facebook and hurled abuse at him.
The pizza delivery man sent messages including: “What you said will have been the biggest mistake of your life.”
He also wrote: “Hope you’re still in chronic pain – the more the better.”
Dempster previously admitted what he had done and appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to be sentenced yesterday.
Depute fiscal Anna Chisholm said: “The accused was not somebody known to the recipient, however he recognised him from his picture.
“He found these messages to be threatening and appeared to be an accusation of lying while giving evidence.
“There was no further contact from the accused and he reported it to police.”
Dempster’s solicitor, Bruce Macdonald, explained that the man’s behaviour had been triggered by his bewilderment at the jury’s decision.
“His son was convicted and jailed for several months,” he told the court.
“It is fair to say that Mr Dempster was taken aback by this.
“At home with nothing to occupy him, it went round and round and round in his head.
“He couldn’t understand why the complainer had given the evidence he did.”
Mr Macdonald added: “He didn’t intend to hurt him or physically cause him harm.
“When he was interviewed about this, he was very open and frank about it.”
Sheriff Robert McDonald said: “The way in which you behaved is not just a case of being offensive, but is a result of evidence that was given in trial.
“We have to be able to give evidence without someone threatening or sending messages like this in the aftermath.”
Dempster, of Sheddocksley Drive, was ordered to pay a £400 fine, payable at a rate of £10 per week.