SLEW OF ABUSIVE RANTS INCLUDED THE MESSAGE: Thug trolled pregnant teen on Facebook
Vile posts followed violent row
A dad-to-be bombarded a pregnant teenager with vile online abuse, telling her: “I hope you die”.
Garry Houston, 18, trolled the girl, 17, on Facebook in a slew of menacing updates after they fell out.
He branded her the “world’s biggest s** t” and told her he was going to kill himself.
The yob yesterday admitted sending “indecent and obscene” messages at Paisley Sheriff Court.
Fiscal depute Emma Jeffrey told how he targeted the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after an earlier row when he threw a mobile phone which struck her stomach.
She said: “Screenshots of all posts were provided to the police. “They read, ‘f**k you’. “‘‘I hope you die because, know what, I don’t give a f**k about you “‘Die in a hole. “‘I will be dead before anybody gets me. “‘Die m***********s’ “The accused was detained accordingly and made a full admission during interview.”
Houston posted the slurs from his mum’s home in Linwood’s Kinnaird Drive on November 21, 2016.
During the trial, the girl gave evidence from behind a screen.
She told how the abuse had been sparked by an earlier argument when she was accidentally struck with a handset he tossed for her to catch.
The teen said: “He threw the phone and it bounced off my belly, landed on the floor and the battery came off the back of it.
“He got really angry after it.”
Defence lawyer Peter Galletly insisted his client’s immaturity resulted in him lashing out on the internet and told how he had since been thrown out by his mother.
He added: “He’s only 18 and clearly very much regrets what was contained in some of these messages.”
Sheriff James Spy told how online hate speech is rising due to increased use of social media.
He explained: “The comments made by you are indecent and obscene.
“They are of menacing character and are grossly offensive.
“This type of behaviour is becoming more common. “It has serious consequences.” He deferred sentence on Houston, now of Richmond Terrace, Ayrshire, for further reports and demanded he return to court on February 22.