An Aberdeen man who out-stayed his welcome at a party has avoided jail after he attacked the female host.
Robert Davidson, 44, grabbed the woman by the hair and aimed punches at her head and body during the incident at a flat on Charlotte Street on March 5 2023.
Davidson’s victim had not previously met the 44-year-old, but he came along with some of the other guests, the court was told.
The group had been drinking and Davidson ended up falling asleep on the woman’s sofa.
Fiscal depute Andrew McMann explained that the woman and her male friend tried to rouse Davidson at around 5am, telling him he had to go home.
Angry when asked to leave
However, as they woke him, Davidson became angry and an argument ensued.
Davidson remained inside the property as the rest went outside, the court was told.
Mr McMann continued: “The [woman] re-entered the locus alone to try to persuade the accused to leave.
“Her friends remained on the street outside.
“On approaching the door, the complainer observed the accused standing in the doorway about to leave.
Pushed her back into the flat
“However, as he passed her, the accused stuck his foot in the doorway and pushed the woman into the flat as she was trying to close the door behind him.
“The accused then closed the front door, pushed the complainer in the hallway and grabbed her by her hair, dragging her to the ground.
“The complainer was continually shouting ‘get off me’ but the accused persisted.
“The accused then shouted to the complainer ‘Get through to the living room’ and ‘You need to listen to me, if you don’t, I’m going to hurt you’.”
Davidson began punching the woman on her head and body, the court heard, and she managed to kick her legs out, making him fall back against a wall.
Loud disturbance
By now, a neighbour had been woken by the noise and could hear the woman’s cries for help.
The woman eventually managed to run out of the house.
The assault left her with a cut to her lip and large bruises on her face and body.
Police traced Davidson a week later at his Ashgrove Place address and arrested him, but he resisted and was charged with assaulting a police officer.
Davidson pled guilty to one charge of assault on the woman, including repeatedly punching her and grabbing her by the hair.
Offending while on bail
The court heard he was on bail at the time of the offences.
A charge that he exposed himself to the woman was dropped.
Davidson also admitted being in possession of cannabis upon his arrest on March 11 2023.
Davidson’s defence agent, Paul Barnett, said his client had previous convictions, including one for a domestic assault.
He added: “There was no romantic relationship with the complainer in this instance – he barely knew her.
“She was a friend of a friend, he was invited to the house party, and they were consuming alcohol.
“He had consumed a bottle of vodka.”
Recollection unreliable
Mr Barnett explained Davidson had been diagnosed with epilepsy and as such his recollections were “unreliable”.
He said: “It was a very unpleasant offence, he accepts that, he is grateful that the injuries are not worse than they were.”
Sheriff Ian Wallace said: “This was a very troubling assault carried out by you on a female in her own home.
“The victim reports it having a lasting impact on her – as it inevitably would.”
As an alternative to custody, Sheriff Wallace ordered Davidson to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and placed him under an electronic tag order for 225 days.