A 42-year-old Elgin man who breached an ASBO by continuing his drunken, abusive behaviour in the town has been jailed for 17 months.
The anti-social behaviour prevention order on James Shewan was served in June 2023 to try to protect the public but he ignored it on November 16 last year.
At an earlier hearing, Inverness Sheriff Court was told that he made sexual remarks to two women who he encountered outside his home in Masonic Close.
The heavily intoxicated Shewan said to one: “I would like to f****** s**g you” and then referred to the other as being “sexy”.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank was told that Shewan had been remanded in custody since November 22, last year.
The order was intended to prevent Shewan from being drunk in public after numerous run-ins with the law.
‘Your record … is lengthy and appalling’
Sentence had been deferred for a background report and his solicitor, Stephen Carty told the court: “Alcohol has taken over his adult life, having commenced drinking while in school and he has never got out of that habit.
“The use and abuse of alcohol accounts for virtually every previous conviction.
“He appreciates his behaviour must have been particularly upsetting for the complainers here.
“But with his remand, it is the longest period he has not had access to alcohol and it has had a beneficial effect on him. He has had the opportunity of taking stock of his life.”
Mr Carty asked the sheriff to consider a community-based disposal with support being provided to his client.
However, the sheriff rejected this suggestion.
He said: “Looking at your record, it is lengthy and appalling. So there is no alternative to a custodial sentence.”
He backdated it to June 20 as Shewan had been given a prison sentence to serve alongside his period of remand.
