by Craig Borland

A HARDGATE man has been warned he could face a jail term for a terrifying attack on his former partner.

Barry Connelly threw the woman to the floor, sat on her, pinned her to the ground and repeatedly seized her on the neck and body in the assault.

The 32-year-old appeared in court on Friday to be sentenced after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to charges of assault and threatening or abusive behaviour.

But the presiding sheriff said he intended to wait until Connelly has finished serving a prison sentence imposed on a separate matter before deciding how to punish him.

Connelly, of Milton Douglas Road, admitted carrying out the attack in the presence of an 11-year-old boy at a property in Dalgleish Avenue in Duntocher on January 11.

Friday’s hearing heard Connelly had snapped his victim’s phone in half after she dialled 999.

Craig Wainwright, prosecuting, said Connelly and his victim – who, he said, had been in an “on-off” relationship for five years prior to the attack – had begun drinking after he went to the property. Connelly had become agitated after being unable to find his phone and then his car keys.

Mr Wainwright said: “The accused was screaming that he had lost his car keys. The witness pleaded with him to leave.

“She grabbed her mobile phone and dialled 999 but didn’t have a chance to speak to the operator as the accused grabbed the phone from her and threw it on the sofa.

“The accused started to rant and look through furniture with a view to finding his car keys. He picked up her phone and snapped it in half.

“He grabbed the witness, threw her to the ground, jumped on top of her and placed his hands round her throat, shouting ‘I hate you’. The witness was in fear for her life.”

At that point a child at the property came into the living room and began shouting, kicking, pushing and hitting Connelly and pleading with him not to hurt the woman.

After reading a background report, Sheriff William Gallacher expressed alarm that Connelly appeared to have suggested to social workers that he did not commit the offence.

But Connelly’s solicitor, Waqqas Ashraf, said: “He was extremely intoxicated. He was shell-shocked that this occurred. He cannot remember assaulting the victim.”

Sheriff Gallacher said: “That’s very different to saying he didn’t do it and she’s lying. Is he accepting that he did this or is he saying it didn’t happen and it’s a lie?

“If he’s not able to vouch for his own recollection, but accepts he did it, then he’s stuck with it.”

Mr Ashraf – who said Connelly’s earliest release date from his current prison term is in late March – told the court his client was having severe difficulties with alcohol, drugs and medication at the time of the incident, and suggested Connelly could benefit from a community payback order.

But Sheriff Gallacher pointed out that to give Connelly a community punishment now, with four months of his jail term still to run, would be “meaningless”.

Mr Ashraf said his client was receiving support from the prison service, but the sheriff said he needed more information about what Connelly was actually doing to tackle his problems while behind bars.

Sheriff Gallacher said: “It’s not good enough to say ‘I’m not there just now, it will all be better when I get out’. It’s not just going to be that he sits in wherever he is and does nothing.

“If he’s shown effort on his part to do something I will take that into account, but if he’s not, I’m going to impose a consecutive sentence.”

His case will recall on will return to court on March 15 for a report on his progress while in prison.