A north-east man was jailed for a year yesterday after being found guilty of assaulting a teenage girl at Peterhead.
David Francome had originally been accused of assault with intent to rape, but he was convicted of a lesser charge of assault at the High Court in Aberdeen.
The jury of eight men and seven women took less than four hours to find Francome guilty of attacking a 17-year-old girl in the Clerkhill area of Peterhead on August 5.
The 38-year-old tried to kiss and cuddle the girl on a path near Pitfour Court, before he picked her up and carried her into a lane adjacent to Clerkhill Road.
There he repeatedly struggled with her and pushed and pinned her against a wall.
He also pulled the teenager’s hair, pushed her legs apart, repeatedly touched her body and forced her to the ground, all to her injury.
Francome had also faced a second sexual assault charge and two breaches of the peace charges, but these were dropped.
After the majority verdict, the court heard Francome has previous convictions for assault, as well as a “bad record” for stealing and driving offences.
Lord Brodie told defence counsel Drew McKenzie there was nothing he could say to excuse a “man in his 30s, who is 6ft 1in, assaulting a girl of 17”.
The judge told Francome: “You have been convicted by the jury of a most unpleasant assault, which seemed to be the culmination of a night of drunken and aggressive behaviour.
“You have a bad record and have previously been in the High Court on an assault charge. An assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement conviction was recorded at Peterhead Sheriff Court as recently as May 2008 and you were given a 12-month sentence, which would only have fully expired in June 2009.
“Here we have you drinking and assaulting a young girl in August 2009.”
Francome, who was listed in court papers as a prisoner in Aberdeen, was sentenced to a year in jail backdated to his first court appearance on August 13, 2009.
