A dance school owner who was attacked by her ex-partner has urged other victims of domestic abuse not to suffer in silence.
Julie Young was left cut and bleeding after Julien Mouly lashed out at the couple’s home in Perth’s Errochty Grove.
Bizarrely, Mouly then took a photograph of her injury, which was used as evidence against him at Perth Sheriff Court.
Mouly, 38, appeared in the dock last week and admitted assaulting Ms Young on November 21 last year.
Sheriff William Wood fined him £450 and told him that if he had not taken a photograph of Ms Young, the Crown may have had difficulty convicting him.
Ms Young, who runs the Julie Young Dance Studios and Centre for Performing Arts in Perth, spoke out to encourage other women in abusive relationships to seek justice.
“In my case, I suffered two years of mental and psychological abuse before this happened,” she said.
“The message I want to pass on to others who are in the same position is to get out and get help as soon as possible. Don’t wait around.”
Ms Young, 45, had been with Mouly for 15 years but the pair had separated about a year and a half before the assault.
She had been at home on November 21 when Mouly walked in. An argument broke out and Mouly struck Ms Young on the face.
“I was curled up, trying to defend myself,” she said.
“He took a photograph of me and said ‘Here, this will help you, you can take this to the police’. I think he was taunting me.
“I don’t think he believed I would report him.”
Ms Young denied claims made in court that she had manipulated his bail conditions in an attempt to get him locked up.
Ms Young added: “It’s worrying that he was told if he hadn’t taken a photograph, he might have got away with this. I think that sends out the wrong message.”