Homophobic teen who initiated murder cleared of assault

A Scottish teenager who initiated the murder of a gay man was cleared of a vicious street assault this week.

Alexander Kindred, now aged 18, was 15 when he claimed that council worker James Kerr, 51, had made sexual advances to him in a park.

Kindred punched him and then phoned two friends to tell them Kerr had come on to him.

David Meehan and Martin Souter believed the younger boy's claim and attacked Kerr, leaving him to die in the park.

Meehan was jailed for 16 years, later reduced to 14, and Soutar was jailed for six years. Kindred was sentenced to one year in a youth offender institute.

According to STV, this week at Perth sheriff court, Kindred was cleared of an assault on a football fan after a taxi driver could not identify him.

He and Steven Miller, 32, were accused of assaulting Shawn McPhee in Perth on August 9th last year. Mr McPhee was wearing a Celtic shirt at the time of the attack.

Taxi driver Brian Richards recognised Miller but could not point out Kindred.

Kindred claimed he acted in self-defence and also blamed Miller for the attack.

Last February, he faced another assault charge which was subsequently dropped by prosecutors.