A domestic abuse survivor has spoken of her horror at discovering her violent cheating partner had been secretly tracking her every move for five years.
Neil Anderson, 40, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted brutally assaulting the woman after she discovered evidence of his “multiple” infidelities and confronted him.
After his double life was revealed, Anderson became enraged and attacked his partner, smashing her head into the front of an oven and shattering glass across the floor.
He then picked her up and threw her across the kitchen and into the broken glass, cutting open her head, legs and feet.
Following this, the woman discovered that Anderson had placed a tracking device on her car – which he told her had been present for five years.
She found it under the bonnet of her car, concealed inside the headlight and hardwired to the battery to keep it constantly charged.
‘More and more aggressive’
“When I first questioned him about it, he said he didn’t know what I was talking about – but later told me that it had been there for five years,” she told The Press and Journal.
Describing their relationship, she said Anderson had become “more and more aggressive” over time.
The 38-year-old woman said she also discovered that Anderson was on lots of online dating sites and had been meeting other females behind her back.
“He showed me no respect at all,” she said.
“People have no idea what he’s like – so if this can warn other people and open their eyes a little bit then it’s important.
“I was with him for a long time and I didn’t know anything else – that’s how the abuse got to the point it got to.
“I didn’t know how to get out of it. Thankfully my friends helped me to see it for what it was.”
GPS tracker found
Fiscal depute Andrew McMann told the court that when Anderson’s partner found out that he’d been being unfaithful, he lunged at her, seizing her with both hands.
Anderson, who’s employed as a network engineer, then grabbed her by the head and tried to push her face into a wall.
The woman called for her child to call the police as Anderson grabbed her once more and shoved her head into the glass of the kitchen oven with such force it caused the glass to smash.
He then threw the woman across the kitchen and into the glass, causing cuts to her head, legs and feet.
She later suffered muscle trauma as a result of the assault.
The pair separated, however, on one occasion when the woman allowed him to attend at the property they had once shared, Anderson removed a number of her personal documents – including her birth certificate and driver’s licence.
In the dock, Anderson pleaded guilty to one charge of engaging in a course of behaviour that was abusive to his former partner, which included violently assaulting her.
Sheriff considered prison
Defence solicitor Liam Mcallister told the court that his client had admitted his guilt to these “serious matters”.
“He is not at all proud of his offending and for this to come to a head in such an extreme way resulted in the end of the relationship,” the solicitor said.
“Mr Anderson’s decision-making at the time was far from the best.
“He has a good job and he has worked hard to maintain that employment.”
Sheriff Lesley Johnston told Anderson: “This is a serious offence in which you perpetrated domestic abuse towards your partner for over a year.
“I was concerned that within the social work report you appeared to not fully recognise the seriousness of the offence.
“This offending easily meets the custodial threshold and I gave serious thought as to whether to impose one, but I believe there is an alternative.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Johnson made Anderson, of Melgum Road, Tarland, subject to a community payback order with supervision for two years and ordered him to carry out 225 hours of unpaid work.
He also has to take part in a domestic abuse programme for two years.
Sheriff Johnston additionally put a non-harassment order in place, meaning Anderson cannot approach his former partner for three years.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.