PRESTONPANS PENSIONER SHEILA HAMILTON ATTACKS CONVICTED PAEDOPHILE BARRY SAMMON IN MUSSLEBURGH
A 65-year-old woman from Prestonpans, Sheila Hamilton, reacted violently after encountering convicted sex offender Barry Sammon while shopping at Home Bargains in Musselburgh, East Lothian.Hamilton, who was with a family member, was so angered upon seeing Sammon that she shouted and swore at him, calling him a paedophile and a foul name.
Sammon quickly moved away, but Hamilton’s fury led her to spit in his face before being pulled away by her relative.
Police were summoned to the scene in February this year due to the disturbance.
Subsequently, Hamilton was arrested and charged.
She appeared in Edinburgh Sheriff Court on December 11 and was fined £100.
Sheriff John Cook acknowledged Hamilton's actions, stating, "Clearly you shouldn’t have done what you did but matters such as this do evoke high emotions.
You did cause a disturbance in the shop, but as you are 65 and have no previous convictions, I propose to impose a financial penalty." According to prosecution details, around 5.40 pm on February 11, Hamilton was shopping at Home Bargains with a family member when she and Sammon crossed paths.
Witnesses reported that Sammon overheard Hamilton accusing him aloud to a staff member, saying, "Do you know that there is a paedophile in your shop?" and later, she called him a "paedophile" and a "dirty bastard." When Sammon tried to distance himself, Hamilton confronted him again, shouting at him, "You are a f***ing bastard touching a ten-year-old and a 14-year-old." She then spat on the right side of his face before her daughter intervened and took her away.
Defence lawyer Cameron Tait highlighted that Hamilton was disabled and had no prior convictions.
He emphasized that her outburst was uncharacteristic and caused by her anger over the situation, adding, "She said one of Sammon’s victims had been a family member of hers.
She was out shopping that day and lost her temper.
But if she were to see this man again, she would simply walk the other way." Hamilton admitted to behaving threateningly by shouting, swearing, acting aggressively, and making abusive remarks at the Musselburgh store on the stated date.
She also pleaded guilty to assaulting Sammon by spitting on him.
Barry Sammon, the convicted sex offender, was previously found guilty of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and an adult woman in a trial at Haddington Sheriff Court in March 2013.
He was placed on the sex offenders register for three years.
