Sheriff shows leniency for Kinross father who acted to protect daughter
A ''family man'' who lashed out in a bid to protect his daughter has won the sympathy of a Perth sheriff.
- By Kirsten Johnson
- Published in the Courier : 24.11.11
- Published online : 24.11.11 @ 11.52am
Damien Moore admitted assaulting David Gentry on July 20 this year in Kinross High Street, but Sheriff Robert McCreadie accepted he had been provoked and admonished him.
The court heard Moore, described as an ''upstanding member of society'', got involved in an altercation to protect his daughter from two ''bullies'' who had taken her mobile phone.
The 47-year-old, of Pier Road, Kinross, threw a punch after reportedly being hit in the face himself, solicitor Rosie Scott explained.
However, he then went to his car and brandished a tyre lever in an attempt to scare the complainer and another young man away.
Though possession of a knife-like weapon can carry a custodial sentence, the sheriff said the case was ''unusual'' and he believed Moore had no intention of using it.
Imposing 75 hours of community service for brandishing the tyre lever, the sheriff said: ''I disapprove of your actions — you should have contacted the police to report the theft of the phone and reasoned with your daughter to stay away, but given the intimidation you were faced with I know this case is different to others.''
Mrs Scott told the court Moore had warned his daughter against spending time with the complainer and his friends. Since distancing herself from them, she had started to receive abuse and on the night in question returned home in a ''distressed state''.
Mrs Scott continued: ''She had started to avoid them but it meant they picked on her. On July 20, she and a friend had walked to a nearby shop to purchase ice-cream and a DVD and they had encountered the gentlemen who had taken her mobile phone.
''She returned home very agitated and her father was concerned. She said she was going to get her phone back from them and he said he would watch to make sure she was okay.
''He hoped that if they saw him there it would deter them, but unfortunately when he arrived he came upon a physical confrontation between his daughter and Mr Gentry.''
Following the assault, the complainer was left with a small scrape on his nose, but depute fiscal John Malpass acknowledged Moore had a cut on the top of his forehead and above his left eye.
Mrs Scott said her client had acted ''in the spur of the moment'' because he was concerned for his child's safety.
She added: ''In hindsight, he wishes he had just taken his daughter away and wants to put this whole mistake behind him.''
The case came just a fortnight after another Perth sheriff questioned why a Comrie father had been apprehended for simply frog-marching a ''bully'' off his premises (link).
During an incident outside his Tay Avenue home, Simon Humphrey grasped a nine-year-old by the scruff of the neck and walked him a couple of steps to his front gate.
The court heard the youngster had spent three years making his son's life a misery and on the day in question had been shouting abuse through the letter box of the family home.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis issued the 38-year-old with an absolute discharge, saying the case had ''no business being at court''.
