Court / Sentence deferred for fire festival assault
A TWENTY one year old man who told a girl “I hate kids” after having his unwanted advances rebuffed has had his sentence deferred for reports.
Anthony William Petrie admitted assaulting a 12-year-old girl by seizing hold of her upper body and pulling it towards him at a Scalloway Fire Festival event on 12 January 2024.
He also admitted conducting himself in a disorderly manner while intoxicated, including shouting, swearing and committing a breach of the peace.
Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Tuesday that Petrie, from Scalloway, had been attending the local fire festival at the time, described at court as a “family event”.
His level of drunkenness had been noticed by responsible adults, and procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said Petrie had been “in the personal space” of some older female children.
An off-duty police officer had taken him to the side to give him some “words of advice”, while other adults told him that he was not behaving appropriately.
Mackenzie said Petrie’s actions had been described as “weird and creepy”.
When one of his unwanted advances was “effectively rebuffed”, Petrie grabbed hold of the 12-year-old and forcefully pulled her towards him before saying “I hate kids”.
Petrie was told he was no longer welcome at the event, at which point he reacted angrily – “shouting and swearing aggressively at them”.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said that Petrie had developmental and mental health issues.
He asked that sentencing on Petrie be deferred for the preparation of background reports, at which point he would address the court fully in mitigation.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank deferred sentencing for a criminal justice social work report, and continued Petrie’s bail. He will return for sentencing on 23 October.
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