A former soldier who subjected his partner to sustained violence over a four-year period was jailed for 10 months yesterday.
John Mitchell, of Dundee, appeared for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court having been warned by Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood to expect a significant period of imprisonment.
The 37-year-old had earlier pleaded guilty to five charges including assault, stalking Lisa Milne and culpable and reckless conduct and a background report was prepared.
He also admitted previous convictions which prompted Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood to tell Mitchell: “This was a sustained campaign of abuse towards Ms Milne over a lengthy period.”
Defence solicitor Neil Wilson asked the Sheriff to impose a community payback order as an alternative to custody. “When he realised the relationship was toxic, he should have walked away. He has not been in any trouble since.”
But the Sheriff told the lawyer: “I can see no alternative but a prison sentence, given his record.”
Fiscal depute Roderick Urquhart told the court that Ms Milne were in a relationship between November 2009 and March 2014 and moved to a new address at The Riggs, Fort Augustus.
He said that she and Mitchell were “bickering” during a barbecue in 2010 and she suffered a cut eyebrow when he recklessly swung a bag with a glass bottle and struck her on the head.
The court heard that later that year Mitchell behaved in an abusive and threatening manner day by throwing a glass at a mirror and furniture around the house after another argument.
Mr Urquhart went on: “The couple moved into a house in Abertarff Place in December, 2010, and in early May 2011 he pushed Ms Milne so hard into a table “it took [her] breath away.”
“Around April 2014, he threw a mobile phone at her, striking her in the stomach, telling her mother: ‘tell her to stop moaning’ or ‘stop pushing my buttons.’
The court was also told of other incidents not involving Ms Milne where he would “go mental” and throw things about their house.
After the couple split up and Ms Milne started a relationship with her now husband, Mr Urquhart said Mitchell repeatedly contacted her by phone, text and social media, sometimes “two or three times a day.”