A man who spat on a nine-year-old girl while on a train to Aberdeen has avoided being sent to prison.
David Skinner caused uproar while onboard a mid-afternoon Scotrail service between Nairn and Aberdeen with his erratic and violent behaviour in January 22 last year.
The 49-year-old – who told the conductor he was homeless and therefore couldn’t pay for the journey – walked through the carriage shouting and swearing at other commuters.
He then turned and spat on a nine-year-old child causing her to burst into tears, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
‘He just spat at me’
Fiscal depute Jane Spark told the court that the conductor working on the Inverness to Aberdeen service became aware that Skinner had boarded the train at Nairn and approached him for a ticket.
Skinner told the conductor that he had no money but intended to travel to Aberdeen.
The conductor informed Skinner that he would have to get off at the next stop.
Upon the train leaving Elgin station, the conductor noticed that Skinner was still on the train and asked him why he hadn’t alighted at the last stop, to which he replied that he was homeless and needed to get to Aberdeen.
Due to this, the conductor allowed him to remain on the train as he was causing no problem at this time.
At around 5.25pm a woman was taking her friend’s nine-year-old daughter and her own seven-year-old daughter into Aberdeen when Skinner walked into their carriage whistling and talking to himself.
As he walked past the table where they were sitting he stopped and turned his head and spat at the nine-year-old girl’s face, with spittle landing on the child’s forehead.
The girl then turned to the woman and stated: “He just spat at me.”
As the child became very upset the woman went to find the conductor who called the police and arranged for them to meet the train at Dyce Station.
Another woman who had boarded the train at Inverurie then saw Skinner walk through her carriage in an aggressive manner.
As she got up off her seat to alight at Kintore, Skinner shouted: “You get off the f****** train now!”
As she walked up the carriage to inform the conductor, Skinner ran up to him in a threatening manner and stated: “You got the f****** police?”
He then added: “I’ll kill you f****** Scots!”
The woman then went to the rear carriage to get away from Skinner where she passed two children who appeared to be crying due to his behaviour.
Appearing via videolink, Skinner pleaded guilty to one charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and a second charge of assault by spitting.
‘A disgusting act’
Defence solicitor Tony Burgess told the court that his client had never served any kind of custodial sentence prior to being remanded over this incident.
“Before, he did not know what that means and now he does – he is older and he is wiser,” Mr Burgess said.
“Clearly, the threshold for a custodial sentence has been passed and will be at the forefront of the court’s mind.
“Mr Skinner realises what punishment is now and he wants to move on with his life.”
Sheriff Ian Miller told Skinner that he considered the incident where he spat at the nine-year-old child a “disgusting act”.
As an alternative to a prison sentence, he made Skinner, of Dundas Street, Stromness, Kirkwall, Orkney, subject to a community payback order and ordered him to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work.
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