A man has been banned from approaching his ex-girlfriend for 10 years after he carried out a “terrifying” catalogue of domestic assaults on her.
Scott Thomson, 29, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted getting drunk and arguing with his then-partner before chasing her down a hotel hallway as she tried to escape.
Thomson’s solicitor told the court his client had “not intended” to cause her injury when he dragged the terrified woman back to the room by her hood, causing skin burns up her back and restricting her breathing.
Thomson – who has previous convictions for domestic offending – then smashed up the hotel bathroom in a petulant rage.
It was also stated that, on a separate occasion, Thomson assaulted the woman at a train station and shoved her into some bushes.
Sheriff Ian Wallace told Thomson that he has an “issue with women” that he needs to address or he will face a prison sentence in future.
Thomson flew into jealous rage
Fiscal depute Jane Spark told the court that on February 21 last year, Thomson’s then-partner had booked an evening for them at the Rox Hotel in Aberdeen.
The couple then went out and consumed alcohol in Aberdeen city centre and were in generally good spirits.
Returning to the hotel at 2am, they went to the room where Thomson immediately demanded to see the woman’s mobile phone, which she handed over and he began scrolling through.
He found messages between his girlfriend and a male friend, at which point Thomson became irate.
She demanded the return of her phone which Thomson refused.
As he proceeded to get angrier, she attempted to leave the room several times and eventually got out and ran down the corridor to escape.
Thomson gave chase and grabbed the woman by the hood of her jumper, causing her to fall backwards to the ground.
He then dragged the woman back along the hallway, pulling her hood with such force the material restricted her breathing as he hauled her back to the room.
Ms Spark told the court that Thomson dragged her for around five metres, ripping her jumper and causing pain to her neck and friction burns to her lower back.
Smashed up bathroom
The fiscal depute added: “The accused then prevented the complainer from leaving the room by seizing her body and pulling her so she could not leave.
“He did so by wrapping both arms around her and pulling her.
“Eventually, the complainer gave up trying to escape and endured the accused screaming at her.
“During the course of this, he damaged many items in the room, breaking a curtain rail, a chair, a toilet seat and cracking the bowl of the toilet.
“Whilst in the corridor attempting to prevent the complainer’s escape, the accused damaged a wall causing a small hole in the wall.
This continued for around 45 minutes.
“The complainer did not go to sleep straight away, although the parties were in separate beds, as she did not feel safe in the company of the accused.
“The next morning, the parties went their separate ways.”
Ms Spark also told the court about another incident involving the pair in Montrose, where Thomson got heavily intoxicated during a day out in Montrose.
It was stated that he repeatedly seized hold of his former partner, pushed her to the ground, kicked her and shoved her into a bush.
In the dock, Thomson admitted two counts of assault and a third charge of behaving in a threatening or abusing manner and damaging property.
‘You will end up in prison’
Defence solicitor Michael Burnett accepted that his client’s behaviour at The Rox hotel “would no doubt have been a terrifying incident” for the woman involved, but that Thomson had “not intended to cause her injury”.
“He was just trying to get her back in the room, but he had no business behaving in the manner described,” the solicitor said.
“What seems to come across is his difficulty with alcohol consumption – if something comes to light that causes him romantic jealousy then he acts in this manner.
“But he accepts full responsibility, has shown remorse and is shamed by these offences.”
Sheriff Wallace told Thomson: “You have an issue with domestic offending and it’s getting worse – you have to address this, or you will end up in prison.
“It’s not clear why you have an issue with women, but you need to sort it out.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Wallace made Thomson, of Bedford Road, Aberdeen, subject to a community payback order with supervision and ordered him to carry out 280 hours of unpaid work.
He also ordered Thomson to take part in a two-year domestic programme and put a non-harassment order in place, meaning he cannot approach his former partner for ten years.
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