A SHERIFF has been praised after lifting a ban on the naming of a teenager who viciously attacked a homeless man.
Lee Reid, 15, left Matt Browning, a Big Issue vendor, with serious injuries after he attacked him with a bottle on an Aberdeen street.
Yesterday Sheriff Annella Cowan lifted a media bar on naming him. Reid should have been protected by reporting
restrictions which prevent the press from publishing the name of any criminal under the age of 16.
However, Sheriff Cowan condemned his actions and said her decision to lift the ban came in light of soaring numbers of young offenders.
Earlier this week Grampian Police revealed details of crimes committed by children under the age of eight.
The force recorded 10,943 crimes committed by 3,780 under 17s in the area last year.
Sheriff Cowan said she was "satisfied, particularly in the climate of cases of violent assaults by young persons, it is appropriate and in the public interest that the restrictions be lifted." And she told Aberdeen Sheriff court that publishing his name, picture and address was part of his punishment.
Following the hearing yesterday, Mr Browning agreed that his attacker should have been named.
He said: "I have a really big scar and because the bottle cut through a tendon, I am likely to be numb down the side of my face for the rest of my life.
"It was the right thing for the sheriff to do, I am glad she took this step. Maybe this will help deter other kids his age from committing this type of offence. They should all be named and shamed. I went through such an awful time. I couldn't go out for a long time. My face swelled up like a balloon."
David Leslie, a spokesman for Victim Support said he hoped the move would help curb growing numbers of juvenile offenders.
He said: "It is appropriate for youth offenders to be named and shamed as long as it acts as a deterrent to youths committing such crimes.
"It is the parents' responsibility to teach their children how to respect the law and the rights of other people from the cradle right through their formative years.
"Unfortunately, this does not seem to be happening.
Reid was found guilty of the unprovoked attack on Mr Browning, 34.
The court heard how Reid smashed a glass bottle over his victim's head as he sold magazines outside the Royal Bank of Scotland on Union Street on 12 January last year.
Mr Browning told the jury how Reid had taunted him before hitting him over the head with a bottle from behind.
Sheriff Cowan deferred sentence on Reid until next month, but she warned Reid he was likely to be jailed for the brutal attack which left his victim scarred.
The full article contains 475 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
