EX-SQUADDIE BLAMES £1,500 COCAINE HABIT FOR TERRIFYING ABUSE TOWARDS FORMER PARTNER
A former soldier, 26-year-old Kristopher Knight, has admitted to issuing threats and sending abusive messages to his ex-girlfriend following the breakdown of their relationship.Knight, who resides in Inverurie, told social workers that he was abusing cocaine and alcohol to cope with his 'demons and trauma' from military service.
Court reports revealed that he sent threatening messages, including threats to 'burn down' his ex’s home and her father's workshop, and to 'hit her where it hurt.' He also warned she would 'regret accusing me ever again' and told her she would 'learn the hard way if she ignored him.' The court was informed that he had recently been convicted for battering a man with a snow shovel.
Knight pleaded guilty to behaving in an abusive manner between October 1, 2019, and January 3, 2020.
The court was told of previous violent incidents and threats, including following his partner home, repeatedly buzzing her intercom, and sending her an email with threats against her and her family.
Despite his mental health issues and substance abuse at the time, Sheriff Graeme Napier described his behavior as 'absolutely disgraceful' but decided against imprisonment, sentencing him instead to a community payback order with two years of supervision, a six-month restriction of liberty order, and a one-year non-harassment order prohibiting him from approaching his former partner.
