An Aberdeen street attacker who squirted bleach at members of the public has been jailed.
Aleksander Sosnowski, 33, admitted spraying his unsuspecting victims with the toxic cleaning liquid near a BP petrol station on King Street in Aberdeen.
He also stubbed a lit cigarette out on another man’s forehead outside a city primary school.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that Sosnowski has no recollection of his actions but was “very shocked” to see himself carry out the offences, which were captured on CCTV.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of assault towards two men involving bleach and another one in relation to the cigarette attack.
Squirted bleach into car
Fiscal depute Ruaridh McAlister told the court that on October 12 2019 Sosnowski was loitering near a bus stop close to St Peter’s Primary School when he approached a man and held a lit cigarette to his forehead.
Almost a month later, on November 3, Sosnowski was seen stumbling and intoxicated near a BP petrol station on King Street by his first bleach victim.
Mr McAlister said: “The complainer decided to run past the accused so he didn’t have to be near him.
“As the complainer ran past the accused he felt a splash on the back of his head and on his jacket.
“The complainer ran into the BP garage to get away from the accused and noticed that his jacket smelled strongly of bleach.”
On the same evening, a male motorist was sitting in his vehicle when Sosnowski approached his car and squirted bleach into it.
The man’s arm was covered in the substance as he attempted to shield his face.
Sosnowski was soon after arrested by police outside the petrol station.
Household bleach – sodium hypochlorite – releases a strong chlorine scent that can harm your lungs and, undiluted, can burn the skin.
Defence agent Caitlin Pirie told the court that her client had been struggling with alcohol dependency since the breakdown of his marriage and had “no recollection” of the offences.
She said: “He was very shocked to hear of the behaviour complained of and was also shocked to see himself on the CCTV footage.
“He does not deny that he poured the bleach over the victim’s head but does not remember the dates of the offence.
“He has not tried to reduce the serious nature of these offences and he would wish to apologise to the victims.”
Sheriff Philip Mann told Sosnowski that “throwing bleach on anyone is a very, very dangerous thing to do”.
He added: “It could have resulted in a serious injury, particularly if the bleach had entered the person’s eye – at the very least it was very, very reckless.”
Sheriff Mann sentenced Sosnowski, whose address was given as HMP Grampian, to a year in prison.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen and the latest crime and breaking incidents, join our new Facebook group HERE.
