A young man with a promising career as a football coach has been fined £200 for repeatedly assaulting a 13-year-old boy.
Lewis Morrison, 19, who coaches children at Fort William Football Club, admitted the offence when he appeared before the Lochaber town’s sheriff court yesterday.
The court heard that the assault happened after a group of youths started “laughing and smirking” at him when he confronted them about a series of phone calls to his home.
And Sheriff Richard Davidson was handed references from the football club’s manager, its player captain, one of Morrison’s teachers and the father of a child he had coached.
Sentencing Morrison, the sheriff said he accepted that his behaviour came against a background of “very substantial provocation”, but it was never acceptable for anyone to take the law into their own hands.
Sheriff Davidson said: “It’s a great pity that you lost your cool on this occasion as I can see from the testimonies put before the court that you’re very well-regarded, particularly within the sporting community in the town.”
He added that Morrison was now classed as a “Schedule One Offender”, which could affect his ability to work with children.
Morrison, of 29 Lochy Road, Inverlochy, who works at the sawmill in Corpach, pleaded guilty to repeatedly assaulting the boy at Lochy Road on October 26 last year by pushing him to the ground and kicking him on the body.
Fiscal depute Stewart Maciver told the court the incident happened at about 8.30pm when Morrison approached a group of youths asking who was making prank phone calls to his home.
He said Morrison pushed the boy to the ground, pushed him again when he tried to sit up and delivered a kick to his back while he was down, but there was no record of any injuries being caused.
Stephen Kennedy, representing Morrison said the family had received “dozens and dozens” of phone calls from a withheld number at random times and it was causing them a lot of distress.
He said his client twice asked the group of youths about the calls and to move away from his home.
Mr Kennedy said: “They started laughing and smirking at him. The mistake he made was to put his hands on the boy and push him.”
He added that Morrison had been wearing soft trainers when he kicked the youth.
He said: “My client spends a lot of time coaching children at Fort William Football Club.
“Over the past three years, he has obtained two SFA coaching badges and it’s his ambition to become a full-time coach.”