A 14 YEAR-OLD boy has admitted slashing another pupil in the face in their school canteen.
The teenager was just 13 when he carried out the knife attack at a West Lothian secondary school on 15 September 2017, a court heard.
The incident allegedly happened just before 9am in the restaurant area, which had around 200 people in it at the time.
The subject of the attack was cut with what is understood to have been a kitchen knife, leaving him permanently disfigured.
The injured teenager was rushed by ambulance to St John's Hospital in Livingston for treatment to the gaping wound.
The court was told that the victim, who was aged 14 at the time, would be scarred for life as a result of the assault.
The accused, who gave a new address in Aberdeenshire, travelled to Livingston Sheriff Court in West Lothian with his mum for the brief hearing on Monday.
Wearing smart black school trousers and a white shirt with an embroidered tie, he spoke only to confirm his identity.
The youth admitted assaulting the other pupil by punching him on the head and "struggling with him whereby he was struck on the head with a knife".
He was originally charged with striking the boy with the blade, but the Crown agreed to amend the wording of the indictment.
He also pled guilty to assaulting another 14-year-old pupil by repeatedly punching him on the head and body during the same incident.
The youth further admitted having a knife on school premises without reasonable excuse or lawful authority.
However, the Crown accepted his not guilty plea to sending threatening messages the previous day to the boy he punched and a 15-year-old boy.
A charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by hiding the knife he used in the assault in order to conceal or dispose of evidence implicating him in the commission of the crime was also dropped.
Despite the seriousness of the crimes, neither the accused, his victims, nor the school they then attended can be named because the law bars identification of all juveniles under the age of 18.
Jim Robertson, prosecuting, moved for sentence and said there was no record of previous offending to put before the court.
Andy Aitken, defending, suggested that the Children's Reporter should be asked for advice on sentencing options, given his client's young age at the time of the offence.
He added: "He's on bail and his current address is in Aberdeenshire. He's travelled to court today with his mother."
He asked the court to continue the accused's bail while background reports were prepared, and Sheriff Martin Edington agreed to do so.
Adjourning the case until 19 July, Sheriff Edington told the youth: "In terms of what Mr Aitken has had to say to me today, I'm going to to ask advice from the Children's Panel with regards to this matter.
"At the same time I'm also going to defer sentence on you so the social work department can prepare a report for the court in relation to matters such as whether you might require supervision or be able to carry out any form of court-imposed sentence.
"Your bail will be continued on exactly the same basis as it is now."
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