A thug who battered a woman has been told he was spared jail because he is the sole carer of two children.
Robert Shand attacked the woman — in front of a child — in Carnoustie last November.
He was told he had avoided a prison sentence because he was the sole carer of his two children.
Shand, who has two previous convictions for offences against the same woman, banged her head off a wall before putting her in a headlock.
Fiscal depute Saima Rasheed told Dundee Sheriff Court that Shand then left the house but returned and restarted the attack. At one point he wrenched a phone from her hand as she spoke to a 999 operator before pulling “clumps” of hair out of her head.
Shand, 35, of Ravensby Road, Carnoustie, pleaded guilty on indictment. Sheriff Alastair Carmichael imposed an order requiring Shand to wear an electronic tag and be confined to his home from 7pm to 7am for eight months. He was also placed on a community payback order with two years’ supervision.
Sheriff Carmichael said “This is a serious offence and it is further compounded by the fact that you have two previous convictions involving this woman. These factors make this a matter that firmly fits in the realms of a custodial sentence.
“However, exceptionally and unusually in these circumstances — particularly because of the circumstances of your two children being looked after by you — I’ve concluded it can be dealt with by a non-custodial sentence.”
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