Man in court for telling convert step-father to “go and eat bacon”

The Courier reports on the trial of a man who abused his Muslim convert stepfather via a social media messaging system telling him to “go and eat bacon”. 

Dean McAndrew, 28, pleaded guilty 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, on December 6, 2016 when he appeared before Forfar Sheriff Court this week.

The court heard Dean McAndrew, from Dundee, contacted his stepfather, Christopher McAndrew, from Arbroath, via Facebook’s messaging system and engaged in a “religiously and racially offensive” tirade.

The court 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.

On the evening of 6 November, Dean McAndrew contacted his stepfather using 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 Jill Drummond, prosecuting, was reading out the list of messages sent by the defendant when Sheriff Gregor Murray interjected and said he would require reports to be presented to the court before sentencing McAndrew.

Sheriff Murray noted Dean McAndrew was a first time offender but told him, “that does not stop me from thinking this is serious, from the charge and what I’ve just heard.”

He said: “I’m going to defer sentence on you for a report from the criminal justice social work department.”

Sentence was deferred until February 9 and McAndrew was granted bail on condition that he does not approach or attempt to approach his stepfather.