Pupil threw teacher to ground 'like a rag doll'

A pupil who seriously injured a teacher by picking her up and slamming her head-first onto a concrete floor has been given a community sentence.

Kieran Matthew, 18, left the woman unconscious in a pool of blood after throwing her to the floor "like a rag doll" at St Paul's Academy in Dundee in March last year.

A court heard Matthew put his feet up on the teacher's desk following the attack and said: "The stupid cow deserved it."

He was placed under social work supervision for three years, ordered to attend a mentoring course including anger management, and placed on a one-year curfew.

The court heard the teacher had been left with an "extensive, significant scar" on her head as a result of the attack.

Sheriff Tim Niven-Smith said: "She has dedicated her life to vulnerable school children such as you.

"You have robbed her of her career as she has been unable to go back to school due to panic attacks, nightmares and night terrors as a result of this assault."

He told Matthew the offence merited 18 months in custody, but said it would be reduced for an early guilty plea.

He said it would then fall within the sentencing rules on avoiding short-term sentences of under 12 months for first offenders if an alternative is available.

Matthew, who has ADHD and an "extremely low" IQ range between 47 and 59, itted attacking and injuring the teacher.

Dundee Sheriff Court was told Matthew had refused to get changed separately from other pupils before a PE class.

This measure had been put in place because of previous aggression towards other children.

Fiscal depute Laura Bruce said Matthew was "agitated and heightened" over the pre-PE changing.

The teacher was deemed to be a "safe" person for him and had previously succeeded in de-escalating volatile incidents.

She took the decision to have two other teachers and pupils placed in a locked classroom away from Matthew, who sat with his head down at a table.

He then tried to leave the room, where the teacher had her back to him.

Mrs Bruce said: "She recalls him gripping her in a rugby-style grip with her arms pinned to her sides and the next thing she felt was the horrific impact of her head striking the floor."

The court heard the teacher blacked out momentarily but regained consciousness and made a bloody handprint on the wall as she tried to get to her feet.

Staff came to her aid after she screamed for help while bleeding profusely.

Mrs Bruce said: "Another teacher had witnessed the accused lift her completely off her feet, throwing her to the floor deliberately and landing headfirst.

"Another said she appeared to be like a ragdoll flying through the air."

The court heard Matthew then sat at the teacher's desk and repeatedly said the teacher had "deserved it."

He later banged on the desk and said: "The stupid cow deserved it."

He pled guilty to seizing the teacher's neck and body, throwing her to the floor, causing her to strike her head and be rendered unconscious.

He itted the assault was to her severe injury, permanent disfigurement and the danger of her life.

Solicitor Theo Finlay, defending, said: "He has had longstanding issues managing his emotions.

"It is likely he was already in a heightened condition. He experiences nightmares and requires to be medicated.

"He described becoming agitated.

"The teacher moved others away, which made him feel more agitated and singled out. At school he felt intensely disliked and frequently provoked by his peers."