A Fife abuser forced a young boy’s head under bath water until he “struggled to breathe,” a court has heard.
George Oliver’s victim told a trial that his head was held under for “about 30 seconds”.
The 50-year-old carried out assaults on another boy which included punching him and forcing him to sit in cold baths.
Oliver, of Nelson Street, Kirkcaldy, also assaulted a woman over a period of nearly 11 years.
He was convicted by jury of a series of assaults on various occasions in Dunfermline.
The offending spanned a period between August 2003 and April 2015.
The children, now both adults, were six and 10 when the assaults began.
Victim left ‘scared to use shower’
One of his victims told a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court that Oliver would repeatedly hit him and held his head down in a bath.
The victim said: “He would shout bad words and tell me off and then put me under. I was struggling to breathe”.
Asked by procurator fiscal depute Jamie Hilland how he felt at the time, the man said: “Scared.
“I would try to resist but he was too strong, more physical than me and I was trying to hold my breath”.
He said he was scared to use the shower until he was aged about 13 or 14 as a result of what happened.
Under questioning from defence lawyer Alexander Flett about the accuracy of his recollection of events, the man said Oliver would put his head under bath water for “about 30 seconds”.
Oliver was convicted of striking the boy on the head and body and forcing his head under water whereby he was unable to breathe.
He was found guilty of assaulting the other boy to his injury by punching him on the head and body, throwing him and causing him to strike his head on an appliance, seizing him by the throat, pinning him against a wall and door, and smacking his buttocks.
He was also found to have forced the boy to sit in baths containing cold water.
Jury shown photos of wife after assault
Jurors also convicted Oliver of assaulting a woman by punching her on the head and body and seizing her by the hair to her injury.
Jurors were shown photographs taken in 2004 showing a black eye and swelling to the woman’s face, which she said was the result of his first assault.
She said: “He lost his temper and hit me with his fist on my eye”.
Asked by the prosecutor how frequently he would hit her, she said “anything from once or two times a month” on the top half of her body.
She said she did not show her injuries to anyone else but told her mum sometimes.
The trial heard that arrangements were made for Oliver to take anger management sessions after the 2004 incident but that he didn’t go beyond two sessions.
Defence lawyer Mr Flett questioned why the woman did not have photos of any more injuries resulting from assaults she said happened.
The solicitor also highlighted there were no independent medical records of injuries to her, or the two boys, and a lack of concern raised by anyone else about injuries.
Prosecutor Mr Hilland highlighted that one of the boys lied to friends and put his bruises down to “rough play,” and that they both spoke about wearing long sleeved tops.
Oliver was found guilty of a fourth charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting and swearing towards each of his victims on various occasions.
Following the guilty verdicts, Sheriff Charles Macnair remanded Oliver in custody and adjourned sentencing until April 6.
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