A Fife man has been sentenced to 120 hours unpaid work for a “nasty” domestic assault on his wife.
Craig Loftus, 63, admitted twisting the woman’s breasts, seizing hold of her and pinning her.
The attack took place on November 20 last year at an address in Cupar.
Loftus was banned from contacting the woman for two years.
His solicitor said the marriage was at an end and civil lawyers have been instructed.
Sentencing Loftus at Dundee Sheriff Court, Sheriff Alastair Carmichael said: “This is a serious offence, it’s a nasty assault.
“It’s in the custodial zone.”
Six-foot cannabis
A company director was discovered with a cannabis cultivation worth up to £250,000 in his Broughty Ferry home. William Hendry was ordered to carry out 160 hours unpaid work after he admitted producing a large crop of the drug, including six-foot-high plants.
Hammer woman moves city
A Dundee woman caught with a hammer after a prostitution row has left the city.
Kimberly Flynn, 33, admitted having the offensive weapon and then acting in a threatening and abusive manner on her way to Bell Street in March 2021.
Flynn had been at an address at Hilltown Terrace after receiving a text from Eric Woleki.
Flynn obtained the hammer from Mr Woleki’s boot and told police she had offered him a sexual act in return for £40, the court previously heard.
Having admitted the offence in November, Flynn returned to the dock to be sentenced.
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael was told she has moved to Perth’s St Catherine’s Square and begun volunteering in a shop.
Her lawyer James Caird said: “She’s in a positive frame of mind.
“She hasn’t taken illicit substances since January 2.
“She’s moved to Perth to try and make a new start. She is working with the drug service. She’s volunteering at a shop.
“I think this particular offence was a low point in her life. She’s trying to get away from that.
“She would absolutely accept supervision.”
Sheriff Carmichael imposed a supervision order for a year and a half.
Flynn must also engage with the Onestop Women’s Learning Service.
The sheriff said: “It looks like things are changing in your life.”
Flynn admitted that on March 7 2021 at Hilltown Terrace, she had an offensive weapon without reasonable excuse.
She also admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner en route to Bell Street police HQ.
Drunken teacher
A deputy headteacher at a leading Perth private school who drunkenly fell out of her car after two hit-and-run smashes has been banned from the road. Dana Cooper lost her careers after a series of “bad decisions” on December 15 last year, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
Moneylender
A moneylender who threatened a Perth couple while wielding an axe after they refused to pay their son’s outstanding £450 debt has avoided jail.
The terrified couple called police when Andrew Donaldson pulled up outside their home and brandished the weapon, saying he would smash their son’s skull in.
Donaldson threw his arms wide in an explosion-style gesture and told the pair: “I’ll just have to take matters into my own hands.”
The 40-year-old from Methven, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner on July 3 last year.
He also pled guilty to having an offensive weapon in public.
At an earlier court appearance Donaldson, of Culdeesland Road, was told to prepare for jail but when he returned to the dock for sentencing, Sheriff William Wood told him the situation was not quite as severe as it first appeared.
Solicitor Louisa Wade, defending, said her client was “desperate” to be repaid after loaning cash to the couple’s son, who was a workmate.
Ms Wade said: “Mr Donaldson admitted to me that he lost the plot and things escalated far further than they should have.
“He picked up a camping axe from the boot of his car.
“His intention was to scare them, not to use it and that has been his position from day one.”
Sheriff Wood said: “This was an appalling incident.
“The couple were just minding their own business and you came along demanding money.
“Your reaction would justify a prison sentence.
“However, having heard what is said on your behalf and having read the background reports, I am prepared to accept that there is an alternative to custody.”
Donaldson was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
He will stay home between 7pm and 7am as part of a 12-week restriction of liberty order.
13 years of abuse
A Fife man rubbed a boy’s face in urine-soaked bedsheets and tightened a plastic bag over his head during a course of abuse against six children. George Grant’s crimes involved either physical violence, indecent behaviour or neglect towards his victims across 13 years in Fife.
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