A woman who used social media to threaten and taunt a mother about her autistic child has been fined after she was unable to behave herself.
Naomi Cowie sent a barrage of offensive messages about the woman’s non-verbal autistic son on Facebook Messenger.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how the 31-year-old also messaged her victim stating that she “hoped her kids would die”.
She also demanded to know the woman’s address, adding: “I’ll come see you and batter your face in and your spastic kids.”
The terms used by Cowie were described by as sheriff as “quite disgusting”.
Cowie was given nine months to prove she could be of good behaviour in November last year.
However, Cowie was back offending only four months later after she threatened to harm her neighbours over a parking space.
The court heard she turned up at the couple’s home in the dead of night and was seen shouting and banging on their windows.
Fiscal depute Tom Procter told the court that on March 3 this year at an address in Aberdeen Cowie got into an argument with her neighbour after a car was left in the wrong parking space.
An argument ensued and Cowie kicked a gate, causing it to swing back and strike the woman.
A month later on April 15, Cowie then turned up at the woman’s home where she banged on her windows and told her to “come outside” or she would “smash her head in”.
When police arrived, Cowie became “extremely aggressive” and called two constables “rapists”, Mr Procter said.
After being arrested and taken to Kittybrewster Custody Suite, Cowie “ripped apart” a mattress that was given to her by police officers.
Cowie admitted one charge of assault, two charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and an additional charge of willfully damaging property.
She also admitted a further charge of sending social media messages that were of an offensive, obscene or menacing nature.
‘Those messages were disgusting’
Defence agent Neil Robertson told the court that his client had been “struggling with her mental health and alcohol” at the time of her offences.
He added: “She had told social workers that she is absolutely disgusted by her comments, as she should be.”
Sheriff Lesley Johnston told Cowie: “Obviously, the court was minded to admonish you if you had been of good behaviour, but you haven’t been because you have a second matter.
“You accept that those messages were disgusting and I agree.”
Sheriff Johnston made Cowie, of Fifeshill Drive, Aberdeen, subject to a community payback order with supervision for one year and ordered her to pay a fine of £210.
She also made Cowie subject to a non-harassment order meaning she cannot approach her neighbour for 12 months.
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