A Fife man previously jailed for biting off a piece of his former partner’s lip has been sentenced to a further three years behind bars for domestic abuse offences.
David Booth, 58, of Station Court, Leven, was convicted by a jury of assaulting, abducting and threatening a woman on various occasions between February 1 2014 and January 1 2015, and assaulting and abducting another on various occasions between September 10 and November 16.
Booth had already served time in prison for biting off part of his first victim’s lower lip and spitting it out on the floor in a Glasgow pub on January 2 2015, causing her severe injury and permanent disfigurement.
She had to undergo surgery the following day to reconstruct her lip but her speech is still partially affected and she suffers numbness in her lip.
Appearing at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court after being found guilty of four other charges, two of which again related to the woman, Booth was sent back to prison for a total of 36 months and was made subject to non-harassment orders relating to both women for five years by Sheriff Alistair Thornton.
A jury convicted Booth of repeatedly striking the first woman on the head with his hands, clenching and raising his fists and threatening to punch her, seizing her by the body and pushing her on the body, seizing her by her clothing and throwing drinks at her.
He abducted her by repeatedly locking her in a property, refusing to let her leave and detaining her against her will all to her injury on various occasions between February 1 2014 and January 1 2015 both dates inclusive at Chalmers Street, Dunfermline and BJ’s pub in Glasgow.
Between the same dates, he also behaved in a threatening and abusive manner towards the woman, called her derogatory names and threatened her with violence.
Booth was also found guilty of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner towards another former partner, on various occasions between September 10 2016 and November 16 2016 at North Street in Leslie and Blair Place in Kirkcaldy, in that he threatened her with violence and entered her house when uninvited and refused to leave when asked to do so.
He was also found guilty of repeatedly seizing her by the body, pushing her on the body, throwing her against a wall causing her to fall, lunging at her, abducting her, standing in front of a door refusing to let her leave and detaining her against her will, all to her injury, between the same dates and the same locations.
Booth’s defence solicitor Scott McKenzie said his client has been in a new relationship for around a year and is engaged to be married, presenting Sheriff Thornton with a three-page letter from his Booth’s new partner appealing for a non-custodial sentence to be imposed.
Mr McKenzie added Booth had suffered from childhood trauma and abandonment issues, but was now sober and painted a picture of “someone who was always in gainful employment”.
Depute fiscal Ronnie Hay moved a motion for non-harassment orders relating to his victims, both of whom were in court to hear the sentencing, and Sheriff Thornton agreed to impose them for a period of five years.
