You could not accuse the local courts of failing to provide variety.
Benefits cheat
A benefits cheat who pretended to be unmarried to claim thousands of pounds has been warned to expect further punishment, despite raising enough to repay his debt.
Former café owner Paul Barty hid his husband to con the Department of Work and Pensions out of money to which he was not entitled.
The 50-year-old appeared at Perth Sheriff Court a year ago and admitted duping the benefits agency for nearly a year by telling them he was only living with his mother, for whom he was a carer, in Clayton Road, Bridge of Earn.
He failed to tell them he was, in fact, living with his husband while claiming Income Support of just over £3,628 between July 8, 2014, and June 1, 2015.
Sentence was deferred for 12 months for Barty, of Orchard Way, Inchture, to prove he could stay out of trouble.
Returning to the dock, Barty was told he will have to wait even longer to learn his fate.
Solicitor Pauline Cullerton confirmed to the court that her client has repaid the full amount but Sheriff John Rafferty deferred sentence further until April 13, for a background social work report and a Restriction of Liberty Order.
“Simple repayment is not good enough,” he said.
When the case last called in March 2021, Sheriff James Macdonald slammed the DWP for taking so long to bring the case to a conclusion and told Barty he would not be sent to prison because of “prejudice” caused by the delays.
He told Barty: “You could have been sentenced and served that in full by now.
“You have been significantly disadvantaged by having this matter hanging over you for a number of years.”
Mask fear
Dundee offender Scott Mitchell has been told he could be jailed because he refuses to comply with the rules around his supervision order. Claiming anxiety, he says he cannot wear face masks and also will not communicate by phone or email.
Confessed to mum
A man who sent sexual Snapchat messages to a child from a Fife address has been tagged.
Shaun McCutcheon was previously told to confess to his mum about his conviction so their home could be assessed for a restriction of liberty order.
McCutcheon, 23, of Everard Rise in Livingston sent the teenager sexual messages via social media app Snapchat.
Between September 2019 and February 2020, McCutcheon sent messages of “a sexual nature” to the girl from an address in Foulden Place, Dunfermline.
Court papers show the girl was only 15 at the time of the offence.
He intentionally sent the messages to the girl, who can’t be named for legal reasons, for the purposes or sexual gratification or for the purposes of humiliating, alarming or distressing her.
On Wednesday at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, he was placed on a 7pm to 7am curfew for four months by Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane.
At a previous hearing, sentencing was deferred so McCutcheon could alert his mother to the conviction and his home could be checked for the suitability of a curfew.
His solicitor Alan Jackson explained he was already under supervision and would remain so until February 2023 after being convicted of an analogous crime two years ago.
He said: “There was only one victim in this – the complainer.
“She led the conversation, largely.
“He feels benefit from the order. He still has some way to go.”
The sheriff also placed McCutcheon on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.
Curling hurling
Mark Mitchell from Dundee hurled a curling stone through his ex-partner’s window in rural Highland Perthshire. The bitter 54-year-old attacked in the dead of night in April last year and has now been ordered to pay compensation.
Cannabis salesman
A man has admitted selling cannabis at locations in Fife.
Calum Smith admitted at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court he was concerned in the supply of the Class B drug for almost a year.
Between October 2020 and August 2021, the 25-year-old sold drugs in Cluny Road and Gow Crescent in Kirkcaldy, Durris Drive in Glenrothes and Leslie’s High Street.
The HMP Perth inmate had been on bail at the time he was dealing.
Sheriff James Williamson will sentence Smith on March 22.
Hammer blow
Alyth man John Davidson armed himself with a hammer and battered another man who had shown up at his door looking for a fight. The 36-year-old was jailed for 30 months.
The full caseload of the Dundee Crime and Courts Team can be found here.
