A former soldier left his partner with a broken jaw and cheek bone after punching and stamping on her head as she clutched a nine-week-old baby.
Craig Brown, 33, was slated by a sheriff for his “wicked and cruel” attack on the “helpless” woman at an address in the West End of Dundee.
Brown, who saw active service over 11 years with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, admitted endangering the woman’s life in the assault.
“It takes bravery to volunteer to fight for then-Queen and country but the assault which you perpetrated was not brave – it was a cowardly act,” Sheriff Tim Niven-Smith told Brown.
He said: “You received training in weapons and unarmed combat.
“It must have been clear to you that assaulting a female in the way you did could have resulted in fatal injury had you paused to think about your conduct.
“It was wicked and cruel. It was a dastardly attack and a vicious attack.
“I find that there is no alternative but imprisonment in this case.”
It was revealed how Brown had a previous conviction for domestic abuse against the same woman.
Stamp attack
Dundee Sheriff Court heard Brown and the woman had been in an on-off relationship.
They had been drinking alcohol at around 1.45am when the woman suggested Brown, a delivery driver, phone his boss and cancel his shift at work later that day due to being potentially unfit to drive.
Raging Brown took umbrage at the suggestion and the woman, holding the child in her arms, left to go to a bedroom.
As she walked past, Brown punched her on the face.
The woman fell to the floor and hit the back of her head. She desperately raised her hand to protect herself and the child.
The brute then stamped on the left side of her face and injured her thumb as she tried to shield herself.
Police were contacted by a neighbour who heard a “female in distress” and loud banging.
The witness watched as Brown left the area on foot.
Continued pain
Officers found the “extremely distressed” woman with visible injuries to her head and mouth.
Brown was asked by police to return to the scene.
He became upset when asked if he had any remorse and responded: “Yes, of course”.
The woman suffered a broken left cheek, jaw and left thumb, a haematoma on the left temple and significant bruising over the left side of her face.
Her jaw has not healed straight and she still suffers discomfort when eating.
Sentencing
Brown, of Elliot Court in Motherwell, pled guilty to assault to severe injury and danger of her life at an address in Dundee in 2023.
Solicitor Angela Clay said Brown had been diagnosed with ADHD “within the last few weeks” and urged the sheriff to follow the terms of the social work report, which outlined his suitability for a community payback order.
Brown previously spent 90 days and 60 days, respectively, in detention after being court martialled in the army.
He was sentenced to three years in custody and made subject to a five-year non-harassment order.
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