Fife domestic abuser told to heed social workers or face jail

METHIL: Man who assaulted two pregnant women warned to complete existing community payback order

A Methil man convicted of assaulting two women, including while they were pregnant, may be placed on a programme for domestic abusers.

Alexander Burke, 28, was found guilty of a campaign of abuse against his former partners which saw him spray aerosols in their faces and strike one with a microwave.

He was due to be sentenced at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Tuesday but his case was deferred to allow his suitability for the Caledonian System to be assessed.

Sheriff Grant McCulloch warned him he would be sent to prison for a lengthy period if he failed to co-operate with social workers assessing him, or to complete an existing community payback order.

He said Burke had a significant record and told him: “If you want to stay out of jail I need you to engage fully for the Caledonian assessment, I need you to engage fully with your existing community payback order and to do the unpaid work.”

During his trial before a jury last month, one victim told how she struggled to breathe when Burke, known as Sandy, sprayed an aerosol down her throat.

Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court also heard how a red mark was left on the stomach of the other woman following an incident with a microwave while she was expecting.

Jurors convicted Burke, of Methilhaven Road, of four charges of assaulting both women to their injury and to the danger of their life and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards them.

Burke assaulted the women repeatedly at homes they shared with him in Methil, Dysart and Ballingry, one of them between May 2011 and August 2014 and the other between May 2017 and April 2018.

Solicitor Lee Qumsieh said Burke was working in Kirkcaldy and had since “significantly sorted himself out”. Burke will be sentenced on April 14. The Caledonian System helps men convicted of domestic abuse to reduce their offending and is run by criminal justice social work services in local authorities.

“If you want to stay out of jail I need you to engage fully. SHERIFF GRANT MCCULLOCH