A violent domestic abuser who was cleared of attempting to murder his former partner has still been jailed for a drink and drug-fuelled attack on her in Aberdeen.
John McLaughlan was handed a three-year prison sentence at the High Court in Livingston today, following his conviction for assault to injury and danger of life.
A jury found the 43-year-old guilty of the attack, but cleared him of the more serious charge of attempted murder.
He had denied grabbing his ex-partner by the hair, dragging her to the floor, and striking her on the head with a can during a violent incident at Aberdeen’s Hallfield Road on September 6 2019.
He straddled his victim, seized her by the neck, and restricted the woman’s breathing by compressing her throat to the danger of her life, the jury heard.
Bill Adam, defending McLaughlan, claimed his client had struggled for years with substance abuse which had had an adverse effect on his behaviour and relationships.
He told the court: “Although he has a trade as a painter and decorator his drug addiction has led to him not having steady employment for a number of years.
“His drug addiction goes some way to explaining his previous convictions.
No recollection
“Given his condition he and his former partner were in at the time, Mr McLaughlan has no recollection of events beyond drinking, taking tablets, and having a disagreement with his former partner.
“All but one of his convictions are at summary level with there being only one offence of violence, the last of these back in 2001.
“Certainly, this is a fair departure from the record of prior convictions.”
Mr Adam said McLaughlan had expressed a willingness to take part in any sort of programme in prison or after release and would comply with any supervision requirements.
He explained: “Mr Mclaughlan has, since this offence, gone some way to addressing his issues by moving away from the circle of acquaintances with whom he’d mixed in order to source drugs.
“He advises me that his mother suffers from cancer and he hopes he can shortly be available to provide support for her.
“She needs his help and he’d very much like to be available to provide that.”
Attacking police officers
Passing sentence, Judge Simon Collins highlighted that, in addition to the conviction for violence, McLaughland’s record included convictions for attacking police officers.
He told the accused: “You have a significant record of offending over 15 years – characterised by crimes of violence, especially involving police, and crimes of disorder.
“You have two domestically aggravated convictions and you have served a number of short prison sentences.
“In my judgement, the nature of this offence, set against your previous offending, precludes a non-custodial sentence.”
He backdated the 36-month sentence to December 13, when McLaughlan was remanded in custody and imposed a supervised release order for 12 months to protect the public.
