Teen girls who tortured vulnerable man with vacuum cleaner and set his trousers on fire are detained

Two teenage girls who subjected a young man with learning difficulties to a "degrading and demeaning" attack have been detained. A sheriff branded their assault on the vulnerable 21-year-old "truly appalling" and "totally outwith the boundaries of civilised conduct". The man was punched repeatedly, beaten with a metal pole and indecently assaulted with a vacuum cleaner before his jeans were set on fire.

Danielle Sinclair, 17, was sentenced to two years detention for her part in the attack at a flat in Arbroath, Angus, in March. Paige Sharp, 16, was ordered to be detained for 15 months when they appeared at Arbroath Sheriff Court. Sinclair will also be supervised for a year after her release from custody, while Sharp will be under supervision for six months.



Both admitted carrying out the attack at a court hearing earlier this week. Sentencing the pair, Sheriff Kevin Veal said their behaviour would "rightly be considered outrageous and grossly offensive conduct by all right-thinking persons". Outlining the events which led to the attack, he said: "As is accepted by their pleas of guilty to the assault, what followed on thereafter was quite disgraceful behaviour, and totally outwith the boundaries of civilised conduct.

"That two young girls could have behaved in this way, by punching the vulnerable victim so many times, by Danielle Sinclair hitting him with a metal pole or similar object, by then applying a Hoover to his eye and to his penis, and persisting in this conduct even in the face of cries of anguish from the victim, by Paige Sharp setting fire to the jeans of the victim, almost defies belief. That more serious injuries were not sustained by the vulnerable young victim is a matter of good fortune, because both accused paid no heed whatsoever to the consequences of their actions."

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