A Dundee man who knocked his boyfriend unconscious and left him covered in teethmarks in a “sustained and unprovoked” assault was locked up for flouting a strict court order by marrying him just days later.
Sean McLeod bit and punched his partner, before lobbing a glass candle holder at the back of his head as he tried to escape their flat.
The 37-year-old spent the night in the cells but was released on bail the next day on the condition he stayed away from his victim, Matthew Erskine.
But Dundee Sheriff Court heard how McLeod flagrantly breached the order when he and Mr Erskine tied the knot at the city registrar’s.
McLeod appeared in the dock last week and admitted assaulting his partner at their Spey Drive flat on July 11 last year and also breaching his bail order at the wedding on July 31.
He was jailed for 10 months and urged to address his drinking.
Refused to stop biting
Fiscal depute Lee Corr said McLeod and Mr Erskine were together at their upper floor flat at around 7.30pm.
“They were both consuming alcohol.
“At one point, Mr Erskine began ignoring the accused, which seemed to anger him.”
McLeod began biting Mr Erskine on the left hand side of his body, causing him to scream out in pain.
McLeod told him: “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean it.”
But the assault continued and McLeod bit him several more times.
Mr Erskine told him to stop and pushed him away but the accused kept going, said Mr Corr.
When Mr Erskine got up and walked over to the kitchen, “the accused put his head to Mr Erskine’s genital area and bit him through his trouser bottoms and boxers.”
McLeod chased his partner into the bedroom, where he punched him in the face.
“Mr Erskine ran from the bedroom to the top of the stairs,” said Mr Corr.
“As he went down a few steps, he turned back to see the accused was coming towards him.
“Mr Erskine continued running and the accused kicked him with force to the back.
“He managed to hold onto the railing so he did not fall down the stairs.”
Bleeding from the head
The prosecutor said: “Mr Erskine continued down the stairs and grabbed his keys, having decided to leave the flat.
“However, as he did, he felt a thud at the back of his head causing him to feel dizzy and lightheaded.
“He then observed a thick glass tea light holder at his feet, which had been at the top of the stairs.”
Mr Coll said: “He managed to leave the property an ran down a few flights of stairs to get help.
“But he then noticed blood dripping from his head.
“A neighbour called 999 to request police and ambulance as Mr Erskine had lost consciousness.
“Whilst offering assistance, neighbours observed the accused leaving the property and walking past them as if nothing had happened.”
The court heard Mr Erskine was taken to hospital and received treatment for multiple bite marks to his torso, back, arms, neck and scrotum.
He also suffered a laceration at the crown of his head.
McLeod was arrested and spent the night in custody.
He was released from Dundee Sheriff Court the following day with special bail conditions not to approach or contact his partner.
However, the court heard the pair got together for their wedding day at Dundee Registry Office on July 31, despite the strict court order being in place.
Mr Corr said the wedding ceremony went without a hitch.
Heading towards ‘big trouble’
Solicitor Doug McConnell, defending, said his client had already spent seven months in custody.
“Once he is released, he is keen to seek help from his GP,” he said.
Sheriff Ian Anderson told McLeod: “You have paid a high and heavy price for a bout of drinking which led you to behave in an outrageous way against the one you say you love.
“This was a sustained and unprovoked attack.
“If you don’t stop this kind of offending, you are looking at big trouble in the future.”
He urged McLeod to get help with alcohol abuse.
“It’s a common misconception that alcohol makes you feel better.
“It doesn’t. It actually makes you feel worse, its a depressant.”
McLeod, listed as a prisoner in Perth, was jailed for 10 months.
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