A TEENAGER who stole underwear from a house occupied by two young women left behind a trail of the garments as he tried to escape from the boyfriend of one of the girls.
When 18-year-old John Forrest was caught, he bit his pursuer, Stewart Davidson, on his arm.
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court today, Forrest, of Eskhill, Penicuik, burst into tears and pleaded "give me a chance" as he was sent to a young offenders' inst
itution for three months.
Forrest had pleaded guilty previously to stealing four bras and three pairs of tights from another house in Eskhill on February 6 and to assaulting Mr Davidson to his injury. Sentence had been deferred for background reports.
Fiscal Depute Neil Allan said that about 11pm in the evening, two sisters, one in her late teens and the other in her early twenties, were in their home.
One was in the living room with her boyfriend and the other in her bedroom. Both heard sounds coming from another bedroom, but they assumed it was the other sister.
However, when the front door slammed, an outside security light came on and "illuminated a male person" Mr Allan said.
The man was chased by Mr Davidson, who after a short chase grabbed him and was bitten on the arm.
The two sisters arrived on the scene. The man had thrown a pair of tights to the ground and "other items were found marking the course of the pursuit," Mr Allan said.
Asked by Sheriff Kenneth Maciver if the girls knew Forrest, the fiscal depute said the accused had gone to school with the younger sister.
When he was interviewed by the police, Forrest told them: "I just grabbed what I could," but refused to say why he had taken the underwear.
Defence agent Diane Moore said Forrest had been drunk at the time. His reluctance to discuss the offence was because of shame.
"He is deeply ashamed and embarrassed," she said. "He can't sleep or concentrate."
Sheriff Maciver described the situation as "unusual".
There was a feeling that there was a sexual motivation behind the theft, but Forrest's refusal to discuss this with the experts made it impossible to impose an appropriate probation order.
The sheriff pointed out that Forrest had previous convictions, including one for assault.
"You have gone into someone's house, rummaged about in their possessions and stolen items of personal clothing, causing a huge degree of concern to the victims and then assaulted a man," he said.
The full article contains 424 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
