A man has been fined after assaulting his girlfriend and telling her it was her fault for not calming him down.
Kane McCrory subjected his partner to a course of abusive behaviour over a period of two months, twisting her wrist, pushing her and putting her in a headlock.
At one point the 22-year-old even lay on top of the woman to prevent her moving.
Crown narrative
Fiscal depute Carol Gammie told Aberdeen Sheriff Court: “The accused and the complainer have been in a relationship since December 2020.
“On a date at the beginning of February 2021, they were at the accused’s home address lying in bed watching TV when a minor argument broke out.
“It became heated with the accused grabbing the complainer’s right wrist and twisting it, causing her pain.
“The woman began to cry and the accused told her it was her fault and she should have calmed him down before it happened.
“A few days after Valentine’s Day, they were at the complainer’s address having alcoholic drinks.
“The complainer felt dizzy and went to bed to lie down.
“The accused came in and said she had ruined the night and she was being boring.”
McCrory again grabbed her by the wrist, causing her pain.
She made her way to the living room where McCrory “pushed her onto the sofa and lay on top of her, preventing her moving”.
Witnesses who had heard a “disturbance” with “banging and screaming” came to check everything was alright.
At this point McCrory got off the woman and “pretended nothing had happened”.
Ms Gammie said: “At 11am on April 3, at the accused’s address, the complainer went for a shower and left her phone in the bedroom.
“While she was in the shower, the accused burst in and started shouting at her, saying she’d been lying to him against and started showing her messages on her phone.”
The woman was left in tears following the incident, and while she was getting dressed McCrory asked for her phone and started “searching for names on WhatsApp”.
When she asked for her phone back he refused and “put her in a headlock”.
That evening the pair attended a birthday event and McCrory “was unhappy that the complainer was speaking to one of his friends”.
Ms Gammie said: “When she was in the bathroom, he came in, walked towards her, effectively cornering her, and starting shouting at her for flirting with his friend and not showing him enough attention.”
Police were contacted the next day, and in interview McCrory made full admissions.
Charge
McCrory, of The Beeches, Stuartfield, Peterhead, pled guilty to engaging in a course of behaviour which was abusive of his partner.
The offence happened at addresses in Stuartfield and Aberdeen.
Mitigation
Defence agent Ian Woodward-Nutt said his client had never been in trouble before.
He said: “This was a short relationship. His position is he accepts his behaviour was entirely unacceptable.
“His position is he allowed himself to become carried away in respect to certain behaviour by the complainer.
“He felt on occasion she had been dishonest to him and in respect of that he reacted in a way he now accepts was entirely inappropriate and for that he is very sorry.”
Mr Woodward-Nutt added the woman wished to rekindle the relationship.
Sentence
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told McCrory: “It is of concern to the court that you treated your girlfriend so violently.
“That is a worrying feature of the offence to which you have pled guilty, and also that you were prepared to blame her to some extent for your own actions.
“I do take into account that you have never been in trouble before and have no previous convictions.”
She ordered him to pay a fine totalling £390.
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