A 19-year-old man has been warned he could have killed a heavily pregnant teenager after he beat her up in Inverness.
Zachary Williams punched his victim in the face while she was 28 weeks pregnant then seized her by the throat and started squeezing, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
He also repeatedly pushed her on the body and chased after her as she tried to escape.
Williams also pleaded guilty to sending her text messages on August 1 2022 containing threats of violence and derogatory remarks.
He was remanded in custody last month by Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald until a background report had been prepared on the first offender.
‘Emotionally immature’
Defence solicitor David Patterson said: “He accepts fully this is a serious offence. It was nasty and wholly unacceptable. He has learning difficulties and is emotionally immature.
“He also understands he is at a crossroads but there are alternatives to custody.”
Sentencing Williams to 225 hours of unpaid work as an alternative to detention, Sheriff Macdonald also placed him under three years of social work supervision and imposed a non-harassment order for the same period.
Williams, of Golf View Road, Inverness, must also participate in a programme for violent and abusive men.
Sheriff Macdonald told him: “You repeatedly punched her to the danger of life and you could have killed her. If you were 25, I would have sent you to jail.
“But you have the capacity to change so I am going to give you a chance.
“I hope you have learned a lesson being on remand for the past month.”
