Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Fife man’s drug habit left abused partner dependant on foodbanks

Simpson's partner was forced to turn to foodbanks we he spent her money on drugs.
Simpson's partner was forced to turn to foodbanks we he spent her money on drugs.

An abusive boyfriend forced his partner to buy drugs for him, leaving her so impoverished she was forced to use foodbanks.

John Simpson spent almost a year controlling the woman, including keeping hold of her bank card and keys, phoning her constantly while she was with friends and demanding she return home.

The 29-year-old also threatened to petrol bomb the homes of her friends and family.

Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard the woman was “terrified” of Simpson and the relationship has now ended.

Psychological abuse begins

Fiscal depute Lora Apostolova said the woman and Simpson moved into a council house in Glenrothes in August 2021.

Ms Apostolova said: “Following this, the accused became controlling and abusive towards the complainer and she was terrified of him.

“After moving into the address the accused began exerting control over the complainer and became abusive towards her.

“The complainer would regularly misplace her keys, bank card and would leave the cooker on.

“Therefore, the accused retained the bank card, keys, bus pass and other items.

“He took over the cooking.

“The complainer did not have an issue with it at the time, believing the accused was helping her.”

Victim forced to use foodbanks

However, friends noticed the woman was required to ask for the card whenever she required money and Simpson would talk her out of some purchases.

“On numerous occasions her friend observed the accused being verbally abusive towards the complainer, telling her she belonged to him and calling her derogatory names” continued Ms Apostolova.

“The complainer also lost contact with family members during the relationship due to his behaviour, including her mother.

“Her mother witnessed occasions where the accused demanded money from the complainer for controlled drugs and would state, ‘I’m needing money for a smoke’.

“This resulted in her struggling financially and using foodbanks.

“If the complainer failed to give the accused money he would obtain drugs on ‘tick’ and she would have to pay at a later date.”

Abuse escalates to threats

Ms Apostolova said in one particularly terrifying incident Simpson threatened harm to her friends and family.

“Throughout the relationship the accused was verbally abusive towards the complainer and would shout and swear at her regularly.

“The accused would utter threats directed at the complainer’s friends and family members, stating he would petrol bomb their houses and  it would be her fault if this happened.”

Solicitor Scott Norrie, defending, said Simpson had had a troubled childhood and had “spent the majority of his young life in care”.

He said: “His mother had a drug addiction and passed away some years ago.

“His father is an alcoholic. He was in care until the age of 18.”

He said as a result his client had trouble “keeping his emotions in check”.

Simpson, a prisoner at Low Moss, admitted engaging in a course of conduct that was abusive of his partner at addresses in Glenrothes between August 1 2020 and June 9 2021.

He was jailed for 16 months and a five-year non-harassment order was issued, preventing him contacting the woman.