A father of six has avoided jail after shooting a girl described as a "young terrorist".
Douglas Halligan
Douglas Halligan, 36, had put the barrel of an airgun through the letterbox of his home in Tiptree and fired the weapon, causing a bruise to the girl's abdomen, said Gary Willmott, prosecuting.
Halligan, of Elm Close, Tiptree, admitted one charge of assault against the 11-year-old when he appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court yesterday.
Mitigating for Halligan, Jason Cross said his client had acted under extreme provocation in the incident on July 15.
"He accepts he shouldn't have done it," said Mr Cross. "It was a moment of madness on his part."
The court heard the girl had been threatening to bully all of his children.
One of Halligan's children had been threatened with knives and the girl - who Mr Cross said was "a young terrorist" - had threatened to burn another of Halligan's children by pouring petrol over them.
Halligan was given an 80-hour community punishment order.
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Published Thursday, November 18, 2004
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