Motherwell woman repeatedly struck terrified boy, 5, in front of horrified Tesco shoppers

Jacqueline Lees, 47, attacked the young boy in front of shoppers at the Tesco in Carfin with one shocked bystander telling her to stop, but she refused and police were called in.

A lady has been threatened with jail after attacking a five-year-old boy in front of shocked Tesco customers.

In the Carfin, Lanarkshire, supermarket, the child was afraid of 47-year-old Jacqueline Lees.

Both workers and members of the public were shocked to see Lees yelling and swearing before scooping up the boy and hitting him many times on the body.

A startled onlooker approached Lees and requested her to stop acting in such a way. When she refused, the police were called.

After confronting the witness, Lees spat in her face and said that she had given “Asians a bad name.” On New Year’s Eve 2021, she then spat at three police officers who had come to the area.

At Hamilton Sheriff Court, Lees, of Motherwell, Lanarkshire, acknowledged intentionally mistreating the youngster and acting in a menacing or violent way. She also entered a guilty plea to four assault counts for neglecting to show up for court.

“She was observed by several members of the public within the Tesco to be shouting at the child and physically hitting the child on his bottom and body,” deputy fiscal Aga Mathieson stated.

“She was yelling at them to “f**k off” when other people tried to step in and implore her to stop.”When the boy was in distress, she was seen to grab him, put him over her shoulder, and slap him many times while trying to explain that she was disciplining him.

“She placed the child on the ground at the entrance to Tesco and continued to shout and swear towards members of the staff and the public.”

The prosecution continued, saying, “A member of the public approached the accused and asked her to stop, stating that she was attempting to persuade the accused to cease upsetting the child further and that the police had been contacted.”

“She then pursued the witness, approaching her while she was seated in her vehicle, saying, ‘You give Asians a horrible name,’ and then pummeled her face.”When police officers were dealing with the accused, she spat on all three officers and a spit hood was applied before she was taken to the police station.”

“There are issues here which would be better explored with the benefit of a full social work report,” argued defense attorney Scott Jones.

Sheriff John Speir extended Lees’ bail and postponed his sentencing until July in order to gather reports.He cautioned: “Even though the threshold for custody has been passed, especially for spitting at police officers, I’m satisfied that I can call for a report but all options remain open.”

 

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