A brute who subjected a woman and her three children to “hundreds” of beatings as part of a “dreadful catalogue of abuse” was today jailed for four years.
James Skelly, 32, of Hawick Drive, Dundee, brutally attacked the three kids – aged between seven and nine – of a woman he had started seeing during a 21-month period.
In one attack he threw one of the children against a wall so hard that the wall was damaged while in another he told one of his victims: “I wish you were dead.”
One of his victims later told cops that Skelly had battered the children “hundreds” of times.
Skelly was only caught after attacking the children’s mother – who cannot be named to protect the identity of the kids – prompting her to beg her own mother for help to get away from him.
But when he was eventually arrested brazen Skelly claimed to officers that his relationship with the woman was “fantastic” and denied the allegations of abuse.
Fiscal depute Kirsten Thomson told Dundee Sheriff Court that all three children had told police and social workers of the catalogue of abuse they had suffered.
She said: “All three children told police they were repeatedly physically abused by the accused.
“The oldest child recalled an occasion when he was grabbed and thrown against a wall, damaging it.
“He also remembered occasions when he was kicked in the stomach while in the garden.
“The middle child disclosed an occasion when he was kicked and told ‘piss off you f***er I wish you were dead’.
“He said the accused was always shouting and swearing at him had punched him on the body for no reason.
“The youngest child recalled being kicked in the body because the toilet was broken and kicked because of an issue in the garden.
“He said these incidents had happened hundreds of times.
“He recalled once incident when all three had been misbehaving and the accused had picked them up by the neck and pinned them against a wall.
“The accused would often refer to one of the children as ‘gay’ and called them names like ‘little b******s’.”
Skelly also admitted attacking another ex – choking her until she began to feel light headed and prompting her to run from her flat in the middle of the night to seek refuge at Dundee Women’s Aid.
Skelly pleaded guilty on indictment to five charges of assault and one of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner committed at addresses in Dundee and Burntisland, Fife, between December 2009 and December 2014.
Defence solicitor David Holmes urged the court to limit the sentence handed down to Skelly.
Sheriff Alastair Brown imposed a four-year jail term, with a further one year under supervision in the community upon his release.
He said: “This is a dreadful catalogue of abuse against vulnerable people, women and children.
“In the circumstances it appears to be almost impossible to avoid a significant custodial sentence.”
Detective Inspector Muriel Fuller of the Domestic Abuse Task Force said: “James Skelly assaulted the women involved in this case causing them to live in fear of constant violence from him.
“The Domestic Abuse Task Force carried out a protracted investigation into this case and I hope this conviction and sentence sends out a clear message that Police Scotland will robustly and sensitively investigate domestic abuse and that those who perpetrate it have nowhere to hide.
“I would like to take this opportunity to commend the victims who have assisted the police with this enquiry. Their bravery and courage has ensured that James Skelly has been brought to justice.”
https://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/fp/vile-brute-skelly-subjected-woman-three-children-hundreds-beatings/
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.