A teenager on a legal high burned his sleeping mother in their Leuchars home then laughed in her face as she was woken by the pain.
Ashton Ward, 18, left his mother with four blisters on her left hand and one on her right, after carrying out the attack in her bedroom.
He had denied the charge that, on May 28, at an address in Warwick Close, Leuchars, he assaulted Lucy Von Goetz and burned her hand with a lighter or cigarette, to her injury.
At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Sheriff James Williamson labelled Ward’s behaviour as “outrageous”, after finding him guilty.
Ms Von Goetz said she thought Ward, of the Auld Steeple, Nethergate, Dundee, had tried to burn her with a cigarette filled with the legal high.
Giving evidence yesterday, Ms Von Goetz said: “My son Ashton had been smoking what’s called a legal high. I was asleep quite early and he usually stays up late.
“I was awoken by a feeling of heat on my left hand. Ashton was leaning over me and burning me with what I thought was a cigarette. He was laughing.
“It was either a rolled cigarette or a cigarette rolled with this awful legal high. I told him to stop.”
Under questioning from defence solicitor Jaclyn Meisel, Ms Von Goetz continued: “It wasn’t Ashton, from my personal point of view as his mother. He was intoxicated on a legal high.
“It got very scary for me. With my children, they understand my stern voice. I think that’s what brought Ashton back to his senses.
“Ashton had found out about this legal high in Dundee and had started what turned into a terrible habit about three or four weeks beforehand.”
Ms Von Goetz revealed that she called the police herself a few days after the incident. She stated that she had been warned by both her doctor and Ward’s psychiatrist that she was to call the authorities if he did anything violent or abusive to her.
Witness PC Carol Smith stated that Ms Von Goetz initially phoned the police to say that her son might have stolen money from her.
After the police left they were forced to return about an hour later in response to allegations Ward was becoming abusive toward her.
PC Smith went on to add that, when he was detained, Ward said: “Two burns were from me and two were from her.”
Sheriff Williamson told the court that Ward had also claimed he burned his mother as “she burned me the night before”.
He added: “The accused goes on to say it was a joke and won’t happen again. That’s nonsense. You cannot justify an assault with a joke.”
In delivering his verdict, Sheriff Williamson told Ward: “The idea that it was a joke or unintentional is one I don’t accept. This is quite an outrageous thing to do to anyone, let alone your mother.”
Ward is scheduled to be sentenced next month.