FORT WILLIAM MAN ADMITS DOMESTIC ABUSE TOWARDS EX AFTER CHANGING PLEA IN COURT
A Fort William man has admitted to domestic abuse partway through his trial.Paul Paterson, 23, of Abrach Road, Inverlochy, changed his plea on the second day of his trial at Fort William Sheriff Court, on Monday.
He had been giving evidence when proceedings broke for a short interval.
When the court resumed, his defence agent Graham Mann confirmed Paterson would plead guilty to an amended charge, agreed beforehand with the fiscal depute.
Paterson admitted that between August 1 2024 and October 31 2024, at various locations, he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner towards his former partner.
The court heard he sent controlling messages, repeatedly called the woman derogatory names, shouted at her and threatened to harm himself if she ended the relationship.
The charge was aggravated because she was a former partner.
Text messages of a “violent and controlling nature” were read to the court.
In one, Paterson wrote: “Say one word about me to my mum and I will smash your f****** flat windows in.” In others, he referred to his then partner as a c*** and told her: “You f**** cow, you are the reason [I am the way I am].” A colleague of the woman said she had noticed her becoming anxious and upset at work after receiving messages from Paterson.
“She would come to work and wouldn’t come in, she was too anxious,” she said.
“I sometimes had to sit with her in her car to calm her down and encourage her to start her shift.” Paterson told the court he suffered from anxiety and admitted checking his partner’s phone once “to look out for her best interests”.
Asked why he used vile language in messages, he said: “I was just all over the place.
I do regret it.
I just should not have said it.” Sheriff Robert Fraser expressed confidence in the victim’s credibility and deferred sentencing for one month for social work reports, noting Paterson should expect a structured deferred sentence when the case next calls.
His bail was continued.
The court is also considering a non-harassment order.
