Woman ‘in last chance saloon’ after assaults

COURT: New mum carried out brutal attacks on man and teenage girl

A Fife woman who carried out two “brutal” assaults has been warned she is in “last chance saloon” despite becoming a new mum.

Charlene Hall, 22, of Poplar Road in Methil, appeared for sentencing at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court yesterday.

She had previously been convicted of assaulting a man at a property in the town’s Dunearn Drive on May 6 2017 by repeatedly kicking and punching him to his injury.

She had been ordered to carry out unpaid work for the offence but breached the order before being hauled back to court.

Hall was also found guilty of attacking a 15-year-old girl on April 21 last year during an incident on the High Street.

She repeatedly punched the youngster on the head, seized and pulled her hair before striking her on the head with her knee to the teenager’s injury.

Sentence for the second attack had been deferred after Hall fell pregnant with her first child, but she gave birth in May.

Defence solicitor Martin McGuire told the court his client was reluctant to be given an electronic ankle tag because of her child but accepted that it was a decision for the court.

When Sheriff Thornton queried if it was an issue with the hours of restriction, Mr McGuire said: “She doesn’t want it visible to others when out doing activities with her son.”

The sheriff replied: “So it’s an issue of embarrassment rather than anything else.”

Sheriff Thornton issued a stark warning to Hall after agreeing to impose unpaid work rather than a restriction of liberty order.

She was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work for the attack on her male victim. Sentence on the teenage girl assault was deferred for three months to see if Hall was able to be of good behaviour and to comply with the community payback order.

Sheriff Alastair Thornton said: “You are in last chance saloon here. If you fail to comply with the unpaid work order, there will be no other alternative but for you to go to prison.

“You will have to accept what the consequences of that happening and what it that will mean for your new born child.

“I’m going to impose a fresh community payback order of 200 hours of unpaid work and fix a review to ensure you are complying with it.

“I’m going to allow you, because of your new child, eight months to complete the order. If you have not been of good behaviour or if you have failed to complete the unpaid work then there will be a prison sentence imposed upon you in both cases.

“I don’t think I can be any clearer. Don’t let yourself, your child or the court down.”

If you have not been of good behaviour or if you have failed to complete the unpaid work then there will be a prison sentence imposed upon you in both cases