Shieldhill serial domestic offender threatens to rip ex's face off and stab her in front of her child

Appearing at Falkirk Sheriff Court last Thursday, Thomas Bryant, 42, had pleaded guilty to engaging in a course of behaviour which was abusive of his partner at addresses in Shieldhill and Redding between September 30 and December 13 last year.

Steven Lynch, procurator fiscal depute, said: “They had been married for 10 years and had one child together. The relationship had ended in September last year and the witnessed moved out of the matrimonial home.

"At this point she was receiving around 15 to 20 calls a day from him. Her solicitor wrote to the accused requesting him to desist, however, this seemed to escalate matters.

"The witness received a voice recording from the accused in which he would stab her in the neck in front of her child. He also stated if she refused to comply with his demands he would commit suicide.

"She went on a night out with friends and during the course of three hours she received 30 phone calls from the accused and a message saying ‘I’ll come to your night out and I’ll rip your face off’.

"She then reported matters to the police.”

Stephen Biggam, defence solicitor, said: “He is extremely childlike, naive, self centred and selfish. He is infantile and had drug addiction issues. I can’t say. with all due respect to him, he strikes me as someone with the maturity of someone who is 42.”

Addressing Bryant, Sheriff Craig Harris said: “This is your third conviction for domestic matters and the court has treated you leniently in relation to the other two matters committed five years and nine years ago. That approach has not worked.

He placed Bryant , 16 Cruickshanks Drive, Shieldhill, on a supervised community payback order for two years with the condition he engage with the Caledonian domestic abuse programme in that time.

He was also ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work within two years and made subject to a non-harassment order not to have any contact with his former partner for the next five years.