A TILLICOULTRY man who kicked his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach during an attack in the home they had shared has been jailed for 18 months.

Robert McPhee (55) appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court last Thursday (9 July), two months after he was found guilty by a jury for the assault.

On 5 April 2014, at Leven Court in Alloa, he did shout, swear and act in an aggressive manner which placed his now ex-partner in a state of fear and alarm for her safety.

He then assaulted her by seizing her by the hair, punching her on the head, slapping her on the face and kicking and punching her on the body, all while she was pregnant, and all to her injury.

During the trial, the complainer and two of her relatives gave evidence against the accused.

The complainer said McPhee slapped her, leaving “finger prints on her neck” and that he also grabbed her by the hair, pulled her along the ground and punched her on the head.

Her neighbour also gave testimony that she heard a male voice shouting and a female voice screaming out.

McPhee’s defence agent, Brian Allison, made repeated reference to a number of “glaring inconsistencies” in the evidence given by the complainer and her two relatives.

He said: “Their accounts of what happened later in the evening diverged dramatically. Could it be there has been some concoction? A putting of heads together?” He argued that much of the verbal evidence heard before the court had been exaggerated.

However, depute fiscal Beverley Adam said: “Taken as a whole, you can safely say there is a compelling case against the accused.

“The complainer came out of the property with injuries she did not have when she went in.

“She was in there for a matter of minutes, and returned with her hair dishevelled and marks on her. There is one clear explanation for that.” After 90 minutes’ deliberations, the jury found McPhee, of Hillview Terrace, guilty by a majority under some notable deletions from the indictment.

Sheriff David Mackie, presiding, then deferred sentencing for the submission of criminal justice social work reports.

He told McPhee: “You have been found guilty of two serious offences of domestic violence and these social work reports will tell the court of the possibility of a community-based disposal.

“However, you must not assume that any community sentence suggested to the court will be the course of action taken.

“The possibility of a custodial sentence is still very real and I don’t want you to be under any illusions about that.

“This is because of your record and the nature of the offences you have now been convicted of.” When McPhee returned to court on Thursday, one report submitted appeared to demonstrate McPhee’s apparent unwillingness to serve a community payback order for the offence.

His defence agent argued that further reports could be submitted which may suggest that his participation on a domestic abuse programme may act as a viable alternative to prison.

However, Sheriff Mackie was unconvinced and ruled that only custody would appropriately reflect the seriousness of the offence.

He told McPhee: “You appear in court today having been convicted before a jury in a very serious matter. It was domestic abuse of the most serious kind.

“What troubles me is that you have been assessed as being at the highest risk of offending. According to this [social work] report [submitted to the court] there is nothing that can be said in your favour.

“Therefore, the court can have no expectation that you would engage and comply with any community-based disposal.

“For these reasons, I see no merit in seeking further reports and feel the matter can only be dealt with by way of a custodial sentence.” Sheriff Mackie then handed him an 18-month term to run from Thursday’s date.