A Leven man has been convicted of injuring a 14-year-old boy by deliberately pushing him through a shop window.
James Band, 40, was found guilty after a trial at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
He had denied repeatedly shoving the teenager, causing him to fall to the ground and hit a window which smashed at the M&A Mini Market on Sea Road in Methil on June 19 last year.
Band, of McIntosh Crescent, maintained the push through the window had been accidental as he had been acting in self defence.
However, following a trial, Sheriff Alastair Thornton said he found CCTV footage of the incident “breathtaking and shocking”.
He said: “The violence and force used by the accused against the boy was disproportionate and excessive.”
The footage played in court was filmed from two angles, one outside the shop and one inside, which showed the incident unfold.
A group of youngsters, including the victim, could be seen in front of a parked vehicle which was being driven by Band’s partner Amanda Keddie.
The youngster could be seen making a rude gesture towards Ms Keddie as she was about to pull away. She got out and challenged the boy.
Band could then be seen assaulting the boy by pushing the 14-year-old over, knocking him to the ground and causing his head to hit the side of Ms Keddie’s vehicle as he fell.
“I pushed him harder than I meant to have pushed him,” Band admitted in evidence yesterday.
Friends of the boy were then seen trying to hold him back, before he punched Band three times.
Band then grabbed hold of the boy and pushed him forward.
He claimed he was trying to pin the youngster against a wall to stop him from throwing punches. However, the camera captured the moment the pair went through the shop window.
Asked by his solicitor Dewar Spence how he felt, Band said: “I was shocked – I got a fright.”
But depute fiscal Catherine Fraser suggested Band had ample opportunities to walk away from the incident, accusing him of letting his “ego get the better of him”.
Band responded: “If I had meant to put him through the window I wouldn’t have gone through the window at the same time and sustained an injury myself.”
The court previously heard Band suffered a cut to his head and the boy suffered serious wounds to his hand, facial scarring and a deep cut on his back.
Witness Natalie Arnott also told the trial her belief that Band had been the aggressor throughout.
“I don’t think the young boy was aggressive,” she said.
“The adult should have just walked away – kids are kids.”
Challenged by Mr Spence, she accepted the window collision may have been accidental, but said Band’s actions went way beyond what could be classed as self defence.
“I just find it disgusting how anyone should be going around hitting kids,” he added.
Sheriff Thornton deferred sentence on Band until May 21, and warned him that a custodial sentence will be among the options being considered.
