Man handed community sentence for abusing Muslim convert step-father

Categories: Latest News
Tuesday February 14 2017
The Courier reports on the community order handed to a man who abused his Muslim convert stepfather via Facebook’s messaging system and telling him to “go and eat bacon”.
Dean McAndrew, 28, pleaded guilty in December to using a public communications network to send grossly offensive or indecent, obscene or menacing messages with racially and religiously offensive content to Christopher McAndrew and threatening him with violence.
Forfar Sheriff court heard Dean McAndrew, from Dundee, had contacted his stepfather, Christopher McAndrew, from Arbroath, via Facebook’s messaging system and engaged in a “religiously and racially offensive” tirade.
The court, in an earlier hearing, was told Christopher McAndrew was in the process of converting to Islam and had completed paperwork to change his name.
Mr McAndrew senior was “giving advice” to the defendant on 5 November, the day before the incident. Depute fiscal Stewart Duncan said the younger McAndrew had been “having some difficulties” in the weeks leading up to the conversation.
On the evening of 6 November, Dean McAndrew contacted his stepfather using Facebook Messenger telling him to “go and eat some bacon”. The court heard the defendant also described the victim as “black” and “used an obscenity”.
Depute fiscal Stewart Duncan said McAndrew wrote: “Even better, go to the mosque with your package, boom you’re dead.”
Sentencing had previously been deferred for social work reports to be completed, with bail granted on the condition Dean McAndrew did not contact his stepfather.
Appearing in court this week Sheriff Pino Di Emidio told McAndrew, “It is simply unacceptable. I understand you were very much out of order in expressing yourself in such offensive terms.”
McAndrew was sentenced to a community order with the requirement to carry out 80 hours unpaid work.