Fife derby football thug who attacked disabled fan gets second chance at community payback

The Courier

3 days ago

A thug who battered a young football fan with disabilities in a Fife derby day attack has been given a second chance to do his community payback after he 'did not enjoy' the past month spent behind bars.
Mackenzie King, 21, was sentenced in January this year to 240 hours of unpaid work, as a direct alternative to custody, for his role in a group assault on a 17-year-old at a Dunfermline bus stop after the match at East End Park on January 2 2024.
The young Raith Rovers fan was taken to hospital with concussion after the attack and his hearing aid was broken.
A victim impact statement also revealed he suffers nightmares and flashbacks, missed school exams and gave up playing football.
King – a former soldier who was discharged from the Army due to mental health issues – appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court on April 25 this year to admit breaching his CPO by failing to do the unpaid work hours.
Sheriff Susan Duff remanded him in custody.
King, of Dunfermline, reappeared in the dock from custody for sentencing this week.
Sheriff Duff noted it was a 'particularly horrible case'.
She told King: 'Because of your failure to take the chance I gave you in the community, you have had four weeks in custody and I can see from the (social work) report you did not enjoy it.
'You only avoided jail for this horrible assault because of your young age and for that reason and that alone, I will re-impose the order of 232 hours… you have got left but will also take account of the four weeks on remand and will impose a further 20 hours to reflect the breach'.
The sheriff told him he 'will do two shifts a week' and fixed a review for July 30.
She said it is up to King whether he remains at liberty and gave him six months to complete the 252 hours.
King replied: 'I'm going to stick to it'.
King and 18-year-old Callum Beautyman previously pled guilty to the assault to injury while acting with others.
Prosecutor Annie Henderson told the court that after the game – a 2-1 win for Raith – away fans were making their way to Dunfermline's Queen Margaret train station and were approached by a group of teenagers.
The pair were verbally abusive and then 'picked up' their victim and threw him to the ground, where he 'landed on his head'.
They continued to batter him as he lay on the ground.
The attack drew widespread condemnation from across the Scottish footballing community at the time.
Sentencing King and Beautyman in January, Sheriff Duff told the pair it was a 'nasty, violent assault' and they should be 'utterly ashamed'.
Beautyman, of Kelty, was placed on an eight-month curfew.
They were each handed a three-year football banning order.