Articles | Down's teen put through 'pure hell'

Down's teen put through 'pure hell'

Published: Thursday, 17 April 2008, 7:18PM

The parents of a Down's Syndrome teen accused of assault have called for a change in the law.

Jamie Bauld, 18, who has a mental age of five, was accused of a racist attack on an Asian pupil at his special needs school.

The incident happened at Motherwell College on September 4 last year.

The case was eventually dropped more than seven months later - but his parents Jim and Fiona Bauld said the complaint should never have been taken so far in the first place.

They described the allegation as "nonsense" and that Jamie had simply pushed the girl away as she approached him while eating lunch.

The family, from Cumbernauld in Lanarkshire, said the incident as "like two five-year-olds having an argument."

The college informed Jamie`s parents that he and the girl had been reprimanded over the incident.

Mr Bauld said two police officers later came to interview Jamie, and assured the family that the case would come to nothing.

But Mr Bauld said a letter then arrived from the procurator fiscal saying they had enough evidence to charge his son.

He said he wrote to prosecutors to explain the situation but received no reply.

A letter came seven-and-a-half months later to say they would not be continuing with the case.

Mr Bauld has criticised prosecutors over their handling of the incident.

He said: "It was so ridiculous.

"When we spoke to the procurator fiscal`s office, it was a case of `so what?`.

"When we tried explaining, they were not interested.

"It was pure hell for my wife. It has dragged on for eight months and we`re just delighted it`s over now.

"We just want to highlight it and let people see how ridiculous it was.

"I was quite happy to have the day in court."

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said it had carried out a detailed review of its handling of the case.

It apologised to the Baulds for the time taken to process the complaint.

Around 60,000 people in the UK have Down's, which affects physical growth and is associated with varying levels of learning disabilities.

Down's Syndrome Scotland, which supports people with the condition, said the case raised questions on how those with learning disabilities are treated by the authorities.

The organisation intends to write to the Scottish justice secretary about the issue.