Sheriff allows naming of young offender
23 Jan 08
"Part of punishment" to waive rule for 15-year-old guilty of vicious attack
A sheriff has lifted a ban on naming a teenager in the press after he viciously attacked a man with a glass bottle.
Lee Reid, 15, was found guilty of attacking Big Issue vendor Matt Browning with a glass bottle on an Aberdeen street, cutting a tendon in his face and leaving him with permanent scarring.
Those under 16 who commit crimes are normally protected by having their identities kept out of the press, but Sheriff Annella Cowan lifted the ban. She said that with such a violent crime and the increase in the number of young offenders, it should be part of his punishment that his name, address and picture should be published.
Further sentence for the unprovoked attack was deferred until next month. Sheriff Cowan warned Reid he was likely to receive a custodial sentence because of the severity of his crime.