Winchburgh thug placed on probation for assault on 12-year-old boy

Dec 17 2009 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

A THUG who headbutted and punched a 12-year-old boy has been placed on probation.

Jordan Morrison gave his victim two black eyes and smashed his nose in the violent assault.

And at Livingston Sheriff Court last week the 18-year-old was also ordered to pay his victim £300 in compensation and carry out 90 hours of unpaid work in the community.

At an earlier hearing, fiscal depute Alastair Learmont said the victim had been with a male friend speaking to a group of girls in Longridge when Morrison approached on a bicycle and braked suddenly next to the group.

Mr Learmont added: “The complainer asked why he had done this. The accused said he should stop being cheeky.

“There was a verbal exchange between them and then the accused put his bike down and went up the complainer.

“He punched the complainer to the face, striking his left eye and then punched him to the right eye. He then headbutted him on the face, striking his nose and causing it to bleed. Morrison then landed a few more punches to the complainer’s face. Throughout this he was saying ‘You think you are funny’.

“The complainer’s friend ran to the complainer’s home to get help and the accused got on his bike and cycled off.”

Morrison, whose address was given as Northfield Crescent, Longridge, pled guilty to assaulting the 12-year-old.

Placing Morrison on probation for a year, Sheriff Martin Edington said: “You are beginning to accumulate quite a record with three offences in a short period of time. It seems to me that you are a young man on the wrong path indeed.

“However, on this occasion I feel I can deal with you by means of a probation order. I will also make it a condition of your probation that you pay compensation to your victim and that you carry out a number of unpaid hours of work to put something back into the community.

“I must tell you that if you miss one single payment of this compensation order then you will be in breach of your probation order and you will be brought back in front of me and that is not somewhere you will want to be, so I would make this a priority.”