A man found guilty of an “extremely serious” New Year’s Day attack on a woman in Glenrothes has been jailed for three years.
Steven Heron, 39, punched his victim in the face multiple times and repeatedly kicked her on the head when she was unconscious at a property in the town’s Ashton Drive.
He was also convicted of assaulting a second woman during the same incident by dragging her out of the property.
Heron was found guilty of the crimes by a jury following a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court last month.
Threatening letter fears
Defence lawyer David Bell argued for a community-based disposal as an alternative to custody.
He said Heron, who has a long-term partner and four children, “is not someone who has been habitually violent” and highlighted his last significant conviction was 19 years ago.
Mr Bell said his client’s concern for his family has been “heightened” by a threatening letter posted through the door of his home.
This has since been reported to police and it is understood the letter has been taken for forensic examination.
Three years in prison
In sentencing, Sheriff Charles Macnair told Heron: “You have been convicted of two charges of violence.
“Charge one was an extremely serious assault in that it involved rendering the complainer unconscious and then repeatedly kicking her on the head while she was unconscious.
“Kicks to the head are always very serious, as the results can be wholly unpredictable – they can be minor, serious or fatal”.
Sheriff Macnair sentenced Heron to three years in prison and imposed a one-year supervised release order.
A five-year non-harassment order was also imposed in relation to both Heron’s victims.
Victim left unable to speak
Heron, of Glen Street, Edinburgh, had denied the charges during his trial and blamed another man for the assaults, which took place on January 1 2022.
In her closing speech, prosecutor Laura McManus referred to evidence from the second complainer who said Heron punched his first victim in the face “five or six times”, with the last punch knocking her unconscious and that he kicked her in the face “three or four times”.
Ms McManus told jurors the first woman – backed by a police constable – told how she “could not speak” after the attack.
The fiscal said the officer’s evidence was that the woman was “barely conscious” when he arrived and her face was “smashed up” and she could “barely move or speak”.
Ms McManus suggested Heron’s claims he was in another property in a nearby Glenrothes street and the assault was carried out by another man there did not stack up.
Jurors were also played a 999 call made by the first woman in which a female voice could be heard saying: “Steven, stop it”.
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