A Moray man accused of assaulting a teenage boy has been let off the charge because his provocative victim was among a group of door-knocking pranksters who had been “winding him up”.
Adrian Gazdowicz pled guilty to an amended charge of breach of the peace at Elgin Sheriff Court but was given an absolute discharge by Sheriff Robert Frazer.
A group of children had been knocking on Gazdowicz’s door at St Brides Court in Lhanbryde and running away before he answered in December last year.
Fiscal depute Victoria Silver told the court that, in the run-up to December 5 2022, the same culprits had returned to the area to visit former neighbours and friends.
One of the children, who was 14 years old at the time, was playing the anti-social prank with his siblings.
Moray man Adrian Gazdowicz was ‘shouting in an aggressive manner’
The family used to live in the area, the court heard, and on December 3 were playing ‘knock-door-run’ on St Brides Court when Gazdowicz told them to stop knocking on his windows.
But the children returned two days later and around 8.30pm, once again knocked on Gazdowicz’s door before fleeing.
This time, Gazdowicz recognised one of the boys as having lived near him previously and he shouted at him: “It’s you. What did I tell you?”
Ms Silver explained: “He was up close to his face and shouting in an aggressive manner.”
The boy, who was said to be upset by the confrontation, told his mother about the incident.
Door-knock prank was two nights of ‘hell’ – Elgin Sheriff Court told
Gazdowicz’s defence agent Grant Daglish said his client had been put through two nights of “hell” by the youths.
“His young son, who was seven at the time, was having difficulty sleeping and his wife was so upset she was wanting to move away,” Daglish explained.
“He was going to get the police involved but instead spoke to the boy’s mother.”
It is not clear how the police came to be involved later on.
Mr Daglish told the court that his client’s family had moved to the Elgin area from Poland ten years ago and were hard-working members of the community.
Sheriff finds Gazdowicz was ‘acting under provocation’
Sheriff Frazer said Gazdowicz had been “acting under provocation” because of the boys running around knocking on doors and “winding up the occupiers”.
He added: “It seems Mr Gazdowicz was targeted – either for his nationality or that they got a rise out of him”.
The sheriff granted Gazdowicz an absolute discharge to an amended charge of breach of the peace.
A previous allegation of assault and of seizing the boy by the neck was dropped.
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