A prosecutor has deserted the trial of a Moray serviceman who was accused of abusing his partner over a four-month period.
Reece Hume, 25, pled not guilty at Elgin Sheriff Court on Monday and the procurator fiscal then deserted the case pro loco et tempore.
It means court action is temporarily deserted but the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s case remains active and Hume could still be prosecuted in the future, unless the matter is dropped altogether.
At Hume’s last appearance in the dock last September, his defence counsel Matthew O’Neill withdrew from the case as he told the sheriff he could no longer represent his client.
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood remarked that it was “becoming a bit of a habit”, to which the accused agreed.
Reece Hume was accused of abusing his partner at Kinloss Barracks and during a journey to Northumberland
Hume denied being involved in any abuse between September 1 2021 and January 9 2022 at Kinloss Barracks and during a journey to Northumberland.
It was alleged that he pinned down his partner and straddled her while sitting on her stomach and restricting the woman’s breathing.
Hume was also accused of placing a pillow over her face, biting her body, and, on another occasion, biting her face.
The charge sheet claimed that Hume “uttered derogatory and abusive remarks” and threw water at his alleged victim while she was driving.
He was also accused of shouting and swearing at the woman and it was claimed he “seized her by the throat”.
Other allegations included the claim that Hume locked his partner in a room, took her phone away and threw items of furniture at her.
The charge also stated that Hume pulled the woman by her hair, pulled her, threw a handbag at her and kicked her body.
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