Greenock Sheriff Court A FORMER school classroom assistant who performed a solo sex act in the presence of a 14-year-old boy has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing. Daniel Gardner, 46, was seen by the boy who had stayed overnight at his house lying on a living room sofa with his private parts exposed. The boy, who is now 16, told a trial at Greenock Sheriff Court that Mr Gardner just kept on doing it and had told him: This is what you do. But Mr Gardner denied this, and said that he immediately covered himself up and swore at the boy in stating: Can you not knock?
Russel Boey is the 2020 winner of the
Sunday Star-Times short story competition in the under 25 category for this piece, 19 Seconds. The university student took out the top prize of $1000. Clear. Sometimes I have this nightmare that I can breathe underwater. I don’t realise immediately. I hold my breath as the cold gnaws and I kick down. Below me his ankle circles in languid orbit, brushing on tangleweed. Deeper. Breath disappears with the last beams of light, but I don’t stop; God knows I don’t stop. When I am certain that I will die, when I am sure that his sallow ankle will drift out of sight, I inhale a great gulp of water. It tastes of roast potatoes and carnival hot dogs. And I am still breathing.
A SCHOOL classroom assistant charged with carrying out a solo sex act in the presence of a child has had his trial postponed for a second time. Daniel Gardner, 45, is said to have committed the alleged offence at his Greenock home in front of a 14-year-old boy. He had been due to have his case heard in October before it was adjourned. It has now been put off again for procedural reasons. Gardner, of Antigua Street, has maintained a plea of not guilty through lawyer Gerry Keenan. The matter is due to call again on February 23, ahead of a trial now rescheduled for March.