Dumbarton man attacks wife of 18 years

Oct 3 2008 Lennox Herald (main ed)

A HUSBAND battered his wife after she confronted him about text messages on his mobile phone, Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard last week.

William Dunn punched his partner repeatedly in a drunken rage in their home in Glasgow Road, Dumbarton.

The incident occurred in the evening on June 11 when Dunn’s wife went through his phone messages while he was sleeping.

Fiscal depute Diane McConnell explained: “The complainer went to work and when she came back home she found the accused asleep in bed and he appeared to be in a state of intoxication.

“The complainer took her daughter to an engagement and came back to the house. She found certain text messages on her husband’s phone, went into the bedroom, slapped him on the face and confronted him with regard to these messages.

“She asked him to leave and, in the course of this, the accused started to punch the complainer.

“He then seized hold of her by the neck.

“The witness was extremely fearful and when she managed to release his grasp she left the room, ran into the kitchen and called the police.”

The fiscal depute added that when police arrived Dunn had left and the victim was “hysterical”. The victim’s mouth was cut and there were red marks around her neck.

Defence lawyer Kenny Clark explained that the couple were reconciled within a week and that Dunn had a drink problem for which he was seeking counselling for five days a week.

He added: “Mr Dunn is a first offender. He’s someone who has a good employment history and the couple have been married for 18 years.

“There’s no history of domestic violence, as is made clear by the social worker and comments Mrs Dunn made to police and to me.

“She was anxious that this matter wouldn’t be pursued if it led to Mr Dunn ending up with a conviction.”

However, the Crown pressed ahead with the case and Dunn admitted the assault.

Deferring sentence for six months, Sheriff Shirley Foran told Dunn: “I don’t accept your wife’s attempts to shoulder the blame for this. Responsibility for this lies squarely on your own shoulders.

“You appeared before this court without any record. You now have a record – one for assault.”