Jealous man jailed for domestic abuse

Aforklift truck driver who threatened to drop a toaster in his girlfriend’s bath during a campaign of abuse against her was jailed for 27 months yesterday.

Christopher Bowman also left his victim in pain by biting her, holding a lighter against her arm and striking her head against a wall.

He taunted her by saying he would tell her employer she was a drug user and threatened to“do some thing to her dog which would traumatise her”.

He also told his partner he would steal, then firebomb, her car and he smashed up two of her TVs, telling her it was “meant to be her face”.

Jealous Bowman repeatedly accused her of cheating on him and made constant checks on her phone and demanded she send pictures of her location.

Sheriff Tom Hughes jailed Bowman and imposed a non-harassment order on him for three years.

Bowman was also told he would have to report any relationship to his social worker as part of a 12month supervised release order.

The 38- year- old from Forfar admitted engaging in a course of abusive behaviour towards his partner and biting her to her in jury between February 15 and May 17.

Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court: “She had been in a relationship with him since September 2017. She would lend him money to buy drugs.

“Accusing her of being unfaithful was a common denominator. She repeatedly told him she was not.

“He kicked in the bathroom door to get to her. He told her she better not cheat on him. He would regularly threaten to steal her car and set fire to it.

“She went into the bathroom, locked the door, and got into the bath. The accused used a screwdriver to remove the door and entered holding a toaster.

“He demanded she speak to him or he would throw the toaster in the bath. She talked to him and he left. She sat crying in the bath.”

Police arrived and the woman said she did not want to get her partner in trouble. Officers formed the opinion she was terrified.

“She felt she was to blame for the accused’s actions,” Miss Robertson said.

Solicitor Theo Finlay, defending , said the relationship was at an end and his client needed help coming to terms with childhood abuse.