A teenager punched a guiser in the face in a late-night Hallowe’en attack before making off with his haul of sweets.
Kimberly Murray, 16, attacked the 11-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as he walked down a dark alley in Blairgowrie with a group of friends on October 31 last year.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how she had tried to grab his pumpkin-shaped treat bucket and punched him when he resisted.
Murray, who denied robbing the child, claimed she had mistaken her victim for her cousin, on whom she had intended to play a prank.
She said it was only her intention to scare her cousin.
She panicked and ran off with the bucket when she realised her mistake, she claimed.
However Sheriff Derek O’Carroll dismissed her account of events as “invented” and found her guilty.
The victim, who gave evidence via video link, said he and five friends had been visiting houses in Blairgowrie when they walked down a poorly-lit footpath between Park Neuk and Harriet Row.
There he was approached from behind by Murray who tried to wrestle the bucket, containing sweets and some money, from his grip.
When he tried to pull it back he said Murray had hit him on the face, causing him to let go of the bucket.
Murray then ran off to a waiting car.
Sheriff O’Carroll deferred sentence on Murray for reports.