Two teenagers who attacked a man and put him in hospital have been warned to behave themselves or they’ll spend Christmas in jail.
The boy and girl, both 16, were part of a group of children who set on their victim as he walked to work.
It had earlier been claimed by the girl involved in the assault that the man had sexually assaulted her, triggering the young mob’s brutality.
They rained blows on him as he lay on the ground in the foetal position, Elgin Sheriff Court was told.
Fiscal depute Sharon Ralph said the boy and girl – alongside “multiple other children” – repeatedly kicked the man after he was pulled to the ground on Elgin High Street.
‘He sexually assaulted me’
Mrs Ralph explained that the girl in the dock had alleged that the man involved had sexually assaulted her.
“Her version of events was different when told to each individual and the actual facts are unknown,” she told the court.
The teens had been socialising with younger friends on High Street at 8.15pm, when they decided to go to Tesco.
Then they came across the man walking to his work with a colleague and followed him.
The girl told that colleague: “He sexually assaulted me”.
But she was ignored by the pair, who realised there was a “number of youths walking behind them”.
After the youngsters tried to follow them into the staff entrance at the workplace, the girl pulled her victim to the ground by his backpack.
“Others joined in at that point and an attack took place involving the two accused and others.
“Throughout the attack, the complainer remained in the foetal position protecting his head,” Mrs Ralph said.
His colleague tried to push off the teens but couldn’t and a child stood back and shouted for their friends to stop.
‘Deeply ashamed’ of ‘quite appalling’ behaviour
Mrs Ralph added: “The assault went on for in excess of one minute before they all suddenly stopped and left the area”.
“The complainer was taken to hospital where he was assessed to have suffered bruising but no serious injuries.
“Police studied CCTV and were able to identify the persons involved.
“Others also apprehended at the time admitted to attacking the complainer and said the motive for the attack was the allegations made by the accused.
“The majority of them were children. The two we have in the dock are the two that were over 16 at the time.”
The girl, of Forres, and the boy, of Elgin, both pled guilty to an assault to injury charge.
Robert Cruickshank, the girl’s defence agent, said the first offender had suffered tragedy in her life and pled guilty at the earliest opportunity.
“She explains her reasons for becoming involved in the background report but I am encouraged that towards the end she is adamant she would not behave in such a manner in the future,” he said.
The solicitor added that the college student’s offending was “an incident in isolation and lessons have been learnt”.
Speaking on behalf of the boy, solicitor Matthew O’Neill said the college student was “deeply ashamed” of himself and knows his behaviour was “quite appalling”.
“He was acting on information supplied to him by another,” he added.
“In the cold light of day, he realises that he shouldn’t have done anything with that information as it had nothing to do with him.
“He wishes to apologise to the complainer.”
‘You better be prepared not to be at home this Christmas’
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood told the pair there would be no referral to the Children’s Panel for either of them.
“You are grown up now,” he said. “When you are grown up, you get treated as adults. It’s up to the courts now.
“Simply assaulting somebody in the street is an offence for which a period of detention in a young offenders’ institution can be imposed.
“Since you have a record now, we can do that if you do this again.”
He handed them a six-month structured deferred sentence, ordering each of them to be of good behaviour over that time.
But the sheriff warned: “If you haven’t complied, you better be prepared not to be at home this Christmas.”
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