A father got so frustrated with his five-year-old son he kicked him in the stomach outside his Dundee primary school, a court has heard.
At Dundee Sheriff Court on Friday the 43-year-old who to preserve the child’s anonymity can’t be named admitted assaulting the boy by slapping him on the bottom, pushing him to the ground and kicking him.
Depute fiscal Charmaine Gilmartin told the court the father appeared at the school gates one morning last year with the visibly “upset” child.
She said: “The child was upset, clinging on to the accused and was displaying a reluctance to go in to the school.”
The court heard a witness thought the father looked “irritated” with the child.
The fiscal continued: “The accused then lifted his hand above his shoulder height and smacked the child on the bottom, and this caused the child to move forward.
“The child was still trying to hold on to his father but the accused was trying to walk away from him.
“The accused was then seen to lift both his hands and push the child, resulting in the child being knocked to the ground.”
The witness went over and picked up the child who was very upset.
Mrs Gilmartain continued: “The child was very upset but the accused appeared even more annoyed.
“He then kicked the child in the stomach. The witness stated there was a lot of force, describing it as being powerful, and the kick caused the child to fall to the ground.”
The child was then taken into school by the witness and the police were there to meet the father when he returned to pick his son up.
His response was that he was trying to ‘take control and educate’ his child.
The incident sparked a child protection investigation but the court heard that had since concluded with no further action being taken.
Defence solicitor Mike Ferrie said: “He accepts what he did went beyond the reasonable grounds of chastising and fully accepts what he did was wrong.
“He apologised for his lack of self-control.”
Sheriff Kenneth McGowan said the charge was very serious but took into account the fact that no further action is being taken by child protection services.
He said: “It seems to me that you simply allowed your temper to get the better of you.
“Certainly kicking a child causing him to fall over is far beyond anything that can ever be accepted as reasonable.”
Sheriff McGowan fined the man £400 and ordered him to pay it within 28 days.