He was behaving in a threatening manner and using abusive language
A PE teacher at a top grammar school has been sentenced after he flew into a drunken rage during a flight.
A court has heard how Peter Shepherd was behaving threating manner and using abusive behaviour on board an EasyJet flight.
Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, heard that once the case against Peter Shepherd has concluded, his position will be referred to the Board of Governors at Royal Belfast Academical Institution.
“What is the position with his job, is that in jeopardy?” District Judge Nigel Broderick enquired, BelfastLive reports.
Defence counsel Peter Sands confirmed that while the 49-year-old “continues to work while being supported, they have told him that they will assess the situation once the case has concluded.”
At an earlier hearing, Shepherd, from Whinfield in Larne, had entered guilty pleas to four charges arising from an incident on an EasyJet flight from Hurghada in Egypt on April 20 last year.
The 49-year-old admitted assaulting the female cabin crew manager, using disorderly behaviour, being drunk on an aircraft and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner.
Opening the facts of the case today, a prosecuting lawyer told the court how police were called to Belfast International Airport in the early hours of April 20 following reports of an assault on board the flight.
Officers spoke to the victim who reported that Shepherd had been “acting in a disruptive manner” towards crew members. His behaviour was such that at one point during the flight, a passenger approached her and asked if they “would like for him to be restrained.”
Describing how Shepherd was behaving in a threatening manner and using abusive language, the prosecutor said the assault had been a physical assault, rather than an apprehension.
The court heard that when the cabin manager was speaking to Shepherd about his behaviour, he initially walked away but when he came back at her, he “pressed his forehead into the right side of her face.”
Throughout the assault, Shepherd had been “shouting abuse at her.”
During police interviews, Shepherd “denied the allegations” but admitted he had consumed “a couple of drinks before boarding” and that whilst mid air, he had been drinking from his hip flask.
Lodging a plea in mitigation, Mr Sands, instructed by Reid Black Solicitors, emphasised the PE teacher had admitted his guilt and has “expressed shame, regret and remorse.”
“Clearly, it was very poor behaviour,” the barrister conceded, adding that as “someone who isn’t keen on flying, to put it mildly” Shepherd had consumed more alcohol than he usually would.
Having heard that the defendant’s children were on the flight too, Judge Broderick commented that his behaviour “isn’t a very good example” for them, “not to mention the other passengers.”
“It is a source of embarrassment and shame,” Mr Sands told him.
The judge said he had made the point before that he treated such behaviour on a plane in a serious manner because, “it is a confined space.”
“It’s not like a boat or a train where other passengers can get up and walk away,” he told the court.
As regards the appropriate disposal, Mr Sands confirmed there was “no reason” why Shepherd could not engage in community service.
Judge Broderick told Shepherd it was clear that having admitted his guilt, he had “expressed appropriate remorse, regret and shame.”
He said while he was aware the case “may have an impact on your employment, that is a matter for the school.”
Emphasising that the cabin crew, and particularly the manager, “in no way deserved” to be subjected to such verbal and physical abuse, he imposed a 120-hour community service order “as an alternative to imprisonment.”
In addition to the CSO, Shepherd was also fined a total of £500 and ordered to pay £500 compensation to the lady he assaulted.
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