Woman who let young girl drive car in Aberdeenshire given community service
A woman who filmed a young child driving a car through a Scottish village has been ordered to carry out 134 hours of unpaid work.
Sophie-Leigh Gemmell, 32, previously admitted culpable and reckless conduct after letting the girl - aged under 10 - drive the vehicle through Crimond, Aberdeenshire, in bad weather.
The video of the incident, which happened on July 10 last year, was seen on social media. It showed the child driving in the dark while peering over the steering wheel as music plays and her mother cheers.
At Peterhead Sheriff Court on Monday, Gemmell was given a 134-hour community payback order – reduced from 200 due to her plea.
Sheriff Alan Sinclair said said her actions were 'reckless in the extreme'. But he said a custodial sentence would have been 'disproportionate'. The court heard she had no previous criminal record.
He told the mother that she and the girl were 'very fortunate' not to have suffered more serious consequences and added that allowing a child to operate machinery could have caused injury to both the occupants of the car and the wider public.
The sheriff said filming the incident 'defies any reasonable explanation'.
Gemmell's defence agent said the 32-year-old had difficult family circumstances and was the victim of domestic abuse. He said her behaviour was an attempt at 'levity' during a 'dire' time for the family.
The defence agent said Gemmell admitted her 'behaviour was completely foolish' and a result of 'poor decision-making'.
He said she wished to apologise to the court and showed 'genuine remorse' for her actions and an 'acceptance' that 'the behaviour was wrong and a willingness to accept that'.
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He added that a social work report found she was 'of no risk of further offending' and 'does not need supervision'.
The defence said Gemmell 'appreciates and understands this is a serious matter' that 'could have had serious consequences' and that she recognised she deserves to be punished for her actions.
Gemmell must complete her unpaid work within 12 months.
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