A Fife man who violently assaulted a female neighbour has had his monitoring tag removed so he can go to church.
In June, James Smith, who placed the woman in a headlock and grabbed her breast because he was in a bad mood, was placed on a restriction of liberty order for a year.
He asked for the hours to be relaxed so he could go to church meetings and have more time to go swimming.
Sheriff Alastair Brown ended the tagging order.
Smith, 32, now of Campbell Street, Dunfermline, assaulted the woman in Burntisland on April 14 and 15. A jury found him guilty after a trial.
When interviewed by the police, Smith told them he suffered from multiple sclerosis and had gone through a “day of rage” before the incident because of problems in his personal and family life.
When he returned home, he was “still raging” and became involved in the confrontation.
He admitted there was “a wee scuffle” with the woman but said she was able to overpower him because of his health difficulties. The victim claimed Smith had threatened to rape her during the assault.
At sentencing in June, Sheriff MacNair told Smith, “It must have been extremely frightening for this woman.”
He imposed a community payback order with two years’ supervision and a restriction of liberty order lasting 12 months.
However, that has now been brought to an end with more than six months remaining.
Smith told the court he attends meetings at the Dunfermline Free Church of Scotland and wants more time for leisure activities such as swimming and going to the gym.
