A drunken train passenger swigged from Buckfast and made “obscene and rude” remarks to a 14-year-old girl, a court has heard.
Liam Curry already appeared intoxicated when he boarded the Inverness-bound Scotrail service at Perth and sat across the aisle from the young teen.
The girl ignored his unwanted attention, but Curry’s repeated attempts to engage her in conversation, as well as his loud and vulgar behaviour, were such that other passengers stepped in.
When the obviously distressed teenager alighted at Kingussie she ran, crying, to her father, who was waiting on the platform.
Curry, 28, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit a single charge of threatening or abusive behaviour in relation to the incident on December 9 of last year.
Fiscal depute Karen Poke told the court it was around 8.10pm when Curry and a second man got on the train at Perth station. The pair had been drinking and sat down at a table in the carriage.
“A 14-year-old was sitting adjacent in one of the two seats across the aisle,” she said.
Ms Poke said passengers noted that Curry was slurring his speech as he made attempts to try and engage the teenager, and some other passengers, in conversation.
Man’s behaviour made teen ‘uncomfortable’
“This made her feel very uncomfortable. She tried to remain polite as he kept on talking to her,” she said.
Curry and his friend began to drink Buckfast together and again the 28-year-old attempted to engage the girl in conversation, which she did not return.
“He started making obscene and rude comments,” said Ms Poke.
Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald heard that these included Curry expressing a desire to “get his balls out” and “get his pubes up”.
He also asked: “What is up sexy?”
“There was a lot of profanity, swearing, shouting,” the fiscal depute added.
She said: “One of the passengers felt that she had to get up and check if the young female was okay.”
Another passenger approached Curry’s travelling companion when he had gone to the toilet in an attempt to get him to intervene.
At Kingussie witnesses, including the girl, got off the train.
‘Crying and obviously distressed’
“When the young passenger ran to her father, who was waiting on the platform, she was crying and obviously distressed,” Ms Poke concluded.
Solicitor John MacColl, for Curry, opted to reserve his comments in mitigation for the sentencing hearing, which was deferred as Sheriff MacDonald called for a criminal justice social work report.
She told Curry, of Milton Crescent, Inverness: “This is completely unacceptable behaviour towards a child sitting on a public train, minding her own business obviously feeling threatened and vulnerable.”
The case will call again next month.