Dundee PhD student jailed for pushing rail worker onto train tracks
Cheyenne Naeb will serve 20 months for the incident last February
Last updated 30th Aug 2024
A Dundee University PhD student who pushed a railway worker onto the tracks after he missed a train has been jailed for 20 months.
The incident happened at Glasgow Queen Street Station in February last year, when Cheyenne Naeb blamed worker Brittany Mansfield for his missing a train which left the station at 9.11am.
Naeb shouted at the dispatcher after she allowed the train to depart, before going on to push her on to the tracks, as another train on the line was preparing to leave.
Sheriff John McCormick said: “This was a gross overreaction to missing a train.
"This was a gross overreaction"
“The potential consequences could have been catastrophic.”
The 26 year old had been planning to become a professor if he had graduated this year.
He pled guilty to assaulting Miss Manfield to her injury and danger to life, as well as behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard the American national showed “no concern” for Miss Mansfield before he was stopped by police.
Sheriff McCormick added: “I have read the victim impact statement regarding the ongoing physical and mental injuries.
"The potential consequences could have been catastrophic"
"Taking everything into account, there is no appropriate alternative to a custodial sentence."
The court heard that Miss Mansfield had dispatched a train on platform seven which pulled away when Naeb walked towards her.
Miss Mansfield told him that the train had gone and he shouted: "Don't you come near me, you made me miss my train.”
He called the dispatcher a “scumbag” before pushing her.
Prosecutor Ross Canning said: "Naeb lunged forward and pushed Miss Mansfield with both hands to her chest with such force that she came off the end of the platform.
"She landed in between the running lines of platform seven in front of a train that was preparing to leave the station.
Showed "no concern"
"Miss Mansfield was able to grab hold of Naeb's sleeve which somewhat broke her fall."
Miss Mansfield injured her hip in the fall, and it was noted suffered cuts to her hand, scraped to her legs, and a swollen elbow when she went to hospital later.
She was at the sentencing, along with Naeb’s father, who flew in from the states.
She said outside court: "As a victim, I think the sentence should have been longer, I could have died.
"It is not as if he pushed me off a kerb - it was quite a drop."
The mum said she was off work for around nine months after the attack.
She added: "I still have to stand on the platforms where it happened. It is never ending."
"I think the sentence should have been longer"
When asked if she had any ill feelings towards Naeb, Miss Mansfield replied: "No, I do not necessarily forgive him but I do not want to be bitter.
"If I was to carry on hatred and things like that, I think I would go on a downward spiral.
"I have children and I want to make sure that I am in the best frame of mind."
Paul Sweeney, defending, said: "He asks me to offer his appologies to her and he fully accepts his behaviour on that day was wrong.
"He knows the physical and mental anguish he caused to her and he is sorry for that.
"It was hoped that he would embark on further academia by becoming a professor but this will be difficult.
"His father travelled from America to see his son imprisoned rather than be at his graduation."