An Elgin man who threatened his ex-partner has been given community service.
David Steele, 32, appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court for sentencing after he admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner.
The incident took place at an address in Aberlour earlier this year.
The court heard the couple had been in a relationship for 11 years and have children together.
Fiscal Sharon Ralph said the woman had gone out to visit friends on the evening of May 14 and had returned home at around 11.30pm.
Accusations of infidelity
“The accused was asleep, so she went to bed,” Mrs Ralph said. “At 6am she woke up and went for a shower – the accused was still in bed.
“A short while later he asked her about messages on her phone from another male.
“He took her phone and a tussle began, with [the woman] ending up on the floor.
“She sustained a carpet burn. [Steele] began shouting that she had been with another man and called her a ‘slut’.
“She was unsure what he was referring to as these messages were not of a sexual nature.”
A couple of hours later at 8.30am, Steele began to threaten to change the locks of the house while the woman took their children to school.
Mrs Ralph said the woman left to take the children to the school bus but returned with them as they had missed it.
Steele told officers: ‘I’ve not assaulted her’
Steele continued to shout and swear at the woman, while the children were in another room, the court was told.
Mrs Ralph said “matters escalated” and during a struggle Steele’s partner fell backwards into the oven which resulted in the glass oven door breaking.
Police were then contacted.
Upon arrest, Steele told officers: “I’ve not assaulted her.”
The woman was said to have sustained small cuts on her right arm and scratches on her thigh.
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood said it was not clear from the background report if the couple were still in a relationship but was told they were only in touch for the sake of the children.
‘If you behave like a hooligan, I will treat you like one’
Sheriff Fleetwood asked: “Why was he behaving like a complete idiot? He acted appallingly, aggressively, nastily, controllingly – I’m running out of adjectives.”
Steel’s defence agent Iain Maltman agreed and explained his client had been voluntarily getting anger management counselling, adding: “He has a 2012 football offence and a road traffic conviction, but nothing of a domestic abuse nature.”
Sheriff Fleetwood said: “If you behave like a hooligan, I will treat you like one.
“You clearly need to control your malignant behaviour.”
He placed Steele, of Quebec Place, Elgin, under supervision for 18 months and ordered him to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work to be completed in six months.
An earlier version of this article said that David Steele admitted assaulting his partner by punching her. In fact, his not guilty plea was accepted to pushing her into an oven and he instead pled guilty to behaving in a threatening and abusive manner, repeatedly engaging in a struggle with her, causing her on one occasion to fall to the ground against an oven. We apologise for the error.
