A courtroom descended into chaos after a man who sexually assaulted a child in a pub was given unpaid work.
Ronald Herron, 62, was previously convicted at Dundee Sheriff Court of attacking the 14-year-old inside GJ’s pub, Mains Road in August 2018.
Today, a sheriff ordered Herron to perform unpaid work as well as placing him on the sex offender’s register.
But there were angry scenes as Herron left the dock with police having to remove some people from the dock.
One person could be heard shouting: “He’s ruined my life.”
A supporter of Herron’s responded: “Attention seeker.”
Herron, of Eassie Terrace, denied carrying out the attack and stood trial before Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC.
The sheriff found him guilty of sexually assaulting the child by touching the youngster repeatedly on the leg and on their genitals over their clothing.
Herron, a first offender, returned to the dock today for sentencing following the preparation of social work reports.
Defence solicitor George Donnelly said Herron continues to deny the offence but accepted the verdict.
He said the social work report assessed that Herron was at a “low risk” of re-offending.
Mr Donnelly said: “He was a man who had never been in any trouble before. He was a productive member of society, a family man.
“The assessment of him is that he is someone who is very unlikely to re-offend in any nature.”
Sheriff Drummond ordered Herron to perform 165 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within 12 months.
She said: “I found you guilty of this offence after trial. I have taken into account that you are a first offender, you haven’t come to the attention of the courts before and you have led a very pro-social life and you are assessed as a very low risk.
“The most appropriate sentence is for you to carry out some unpaid work in the community.”
Herron was also placed on the sex offender’s register for five years.
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