A 46-year-old man who acted aggressively towards his wife after returning from the pub to their Arbroath home has been sentenced to unpaid work as an alternative to custody.
Robert Leitch had previously admitted two offences of shouting and swearing at his wife and slamming doors at their house in November and December last year.
Forfar Sheriff Court heard that Leitch had subsequently undergone marriage counselling at the Jehovah’s Witness church he and his wife attend, and that the marriage was improving.
Sentence was initially deferred for good behaviour in relation to the November 11 offence.
However, a similar offence subsequently came to light on December 27.
Referring to this incident, depute fiscal Jill Drummond said: “The accused went to the pub which his wife wasn’t happy with.
“The accused later returned to the locus and went into the living room and gave the complainer a fright as he had opened the door causing it to bang.
“He began to rant as he opened a beer. She was worried but sat listening. He then spilt the beer and became angrier.
“The complainer realised that he wasn’t going to calm down and believed the situation would only be escalated thereafter, and so contacted police.”
Ms Drummond said that Leitch’s wife had written to the crown office outlining a “change of feeling”.
She added: “The complainer and the accused are Jehovah’s Witness and have been receiving marriage counselling at their church and assistance in that way.”
Defence agent Angela McLardy said: “It was a very stressful time for the couple throughout that period. He would be willing to comply with a community payback order.
“He understands the seriousness of these matters.”
Sheriff Di Emidio noted that Leitch had a previous conviction for a domestic offence.
He told Leitch: “I note the testimony I’ve received in relation to the engagement you’ve had within the context of the church. I note that as a very positive step taken.
“For the older offence I will impose a community payback order. Had you not pled guilty at an early stage I would have required 90 hours of unpaid work, that will be reduced to 60 hours.
“For the second offence I will impose a more comprehensive order as an alternative to imprisonment.
“There will be unpaid work to follow on from the first order and there will be a supervision requirement lasting 18 months.
“The unpaid work in this case will be 160 hours, with 30 attributable to the bail aggravation, which will be disqualified because you pled guilty, to 120 hours.
“What I am saying to you very clearly is that this is in effect your third analogous offence and the seriousness is increasing.”
The sheriff also required Leitch to undertake the Fergus programme for domestic abusers.