A brutal thug who battered his girlfriend in the middle of a main road – then made her cover it up while he sat in his jail cell – was today jailed for more than three years.
John Brand launched a vicious attack on partner Carrie-Anne Lindsay in Brechin’s Union Street – punching and kicking her over and over again and leaving her with a broken arm.
His victim later told police she didn’t want to make a statement against Brand and that “all she wanted was to resume her relationship” with him.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard she is “at extremely high risk of further abuse” by the brutal thug.
Having been arrested and locked up in Perth prison over the attack Brand made repeated calls to Miss Lindsay that were recorded on the jail’s phone system.
In one call he urged her to approach prosecutors and ask them to drop the charges while in another he demanded she get witnesses to delete videos made of the vicious attack.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told the court no videos were ever brought forward by witnesses to police – despite Miss Lindsay telling Brand that several existed.
Miss Robertson said: “On May 16, Miss Lindsay decided to report a matter to the police that is no longer before the court.
“However, when she attended the police station she changed her mind and decided to go and look for the accused as she ‘wanted him back’.
“She found him on Union Street where he was lying on the ground holding a bottle of whisky.
“She decided to remove the whisky from him causing the bottle to smash.
“When she tried to remove the bottle the accused entered her van and began to assault her.
“Both ended up outside the van where an independent witness saw the accused kicking her head and body.
“He overpowered her and continued to punch her.
“At some point in the assault the accused stamped on her arm.
“When police attended he lashed out – kicking one officer twice on the back and the other twice on the back of the head.
“Paramedics treated the complainer at the locus. Her arm was deformed and she was in pain but she refused to go to hospital.
“In phone calls after he appeared in court and was remanded he blamed his drug and alcohol consumption.
“She repeatedly assured the accused she had refused to provide a statement before the call ended with the accused telling her he loved her.”
Brand, 25, a prisoner at HMP Perth, pleaded guilty on indictment to charges of assault to severe injury, police assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Defence solicitor Billy Rennie said: “He’s in a position of being ill equipped to leading a normal life in the community.”
Sheriff Alastair Brown jailed Brand for a total of three years and four months.
He said: “The picture which emerges very clearly from the information given to me is of a man who is the classic domestic abuser.
“You have not only inflicted violence on this unfortunate lady, but you have manipulated her.
“You have formed the view that the intensity of your love for her justifies your conduct towards her.
“Let it be very clearly said that nothing justifies this sort of behaviour and let it also be very clearly said that there are no circumstances in which controlling, manipulating and assaulting an intimate partner manifests anything approaching what normal people would regard as love or even care for the person concerned.”
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