Court / Court round-up 20 February
A MAN who whipped two teenagers and hit them with a broom handle after play-fighting went wrong is to be sentenced next month.
Peter Anderson, 36, admitted assaulting a boy and a girl at an address in Lerwick’s Arheim on various occasions between January 2022 and early 2023.
The attacks on the boy – the son of a woman he was seeing – were said to have taken place up until 8 January 2023.
Meanwhile the assaults on the girl – who was the girlfriend of the male complainer – were said to have ended on 31 December 2022.
Anderson admitted punching the boy on his head and body, placing him in chokeholds, pushing him and hitting him on the body with a broom handle.
He also bruised and marked the pair and used a decorative whip – described as being like a “cat o’ nine tails” whip – to hit them both.
The two teenagers were 15 at the start of the offending and both turned 16 in 2022, the court heard.
Anderson, from Gott, began to go out with the mother of the boy and their relationship was “relatively new” when the assaults began.
“The relationship between the boy and the accused was not particularly good,” fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said.
He added that “both complainers and the accused would be spending quite a lot of time” together at the home in Lerwick.
“There was tensions and those tensions would be quite significant,” Mackenzie continued.
Anderson and the boy would engage in “play-fighting” but tempers would “become inflamed”, the fiscal said, and would “escalate into assaults”.
The incidents came to light after the boy went to social work and asked to be re-housed because of issues at home.
After revealing what Anderson had done to the pair, the police launched an investigation.
Defence agent McLeod said the likelihood of Anderson reoffending was highly unlikely as he was no longer in a relationship with the same woman.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank asked for sentencing to be deferred for the preparation of background reports. Anderson will be sentenced on 19 March.
A ROUTINE police check discovered a car that was so badly deteriorated that it posed a danger to injury.
Blake Beckett, 26, admitted driving a vehicle that had two worn front tyres and minimal contact with brakes to brake pads on 7 August 2023 on Lerwick’s South Road.
Beckett, from the town’s Ladies Drive, was stopped by police on a routine matter when they discovered the deficiencies.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said his client accepted that his car was “in need of some attention”.
Beckett was “waiting for the next pay packet” to be able to carry out the work.
There was also “some form of dispute” between Beckett and the people that were supposed to be carrying out work on the vehicle for him, the court was told.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank fined Beckett £400 and endorsed his licence with three penalty points.
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