Man faces prison after assaulting nine-year-old and calling him “gayboy”
Boy was called "a pussy, a gayboy, and a homosexual" after being struck in the chest
A Scottish man faces prison after assaulting a nine-year-old boy and shouting homophobic slurs at him.
The boy was left standing outside in the rain after being called a “gayboy” and being told to “get the fuck out of [the house].”
Craig Stodden faces ‘serious punishment’ over the attack, which occurred in the town of Irvine on Dec. 7 last year.
Stodden was at the boy’s mother’s house when he started to shout at the child, the Irvine Times reports.
Prosecutor Vicky McMillan told Kilmarnock Sheriff Court that Stodden ” shouted at the boy ‘get the fuck out of here.’ This caused the boy to cry. The accused bent down to him and shouted ‘Why the fuck are you crying?’ and then struck him to the chest.”
The boy reportedly fell to the floor after the attack, which prompted his mother to tell Stodden to “leave the child alone,” McMillan said.
“The accused then called the child ‘a pussy, a gayboy and a homosexual,'” McMillan said, “and then stated ‘Get the fuck out I don’t want you in this house anymore.'”
The boy fled the house and was left standing outside in heavy rain without shoes or a jacket.
Occupants in a passing car spotted the child and took him into the vehicle. Stodden then left the house in pursuit, saw the car, and stopped it to ask if they had seen the boy.
“The accused was unable to see the child inside the car,” McMillan said. “The child was asked if he knew the accused and he said no so they continued to Irvine Police Office.”
After the boy’s mother called police to report him missing, she was told he was being held at the police station.
Stodden was arrested after the boy was taken to a local hospital and found to have “bruising to his chest” where the man had struck him. He later admitted to the attack and the verbal harassment, and was formally charged.
Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane, the judge who presided over the case, told Stodden that he faced “serious punishment” for the attack, according to the Times.
“I was just thinking there must have been a very good reason for you to behave like this, but I can’t think of any reason why you would say that to this boy,” she said. “The impact on that young boy will probably be lifelong. I’m glad I’m not sentencing you today. I’m glad I will have three weeks to reflect.”
Stodden will be sentenced on Oct. 23.
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