Seven months for assault

A MAN in Shetland has been sentenced to seven and a half months in prison after carrying out an assault on his wife that “could have easily ended in tragedy”.

Ricardo Kortram, 49, of Lerwick’s North Road, appeared in the town’s sheriff court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a number of charges.

He had originally had been due to appear in court in April on a charge of causing fear or alarm to the woman by repeatedly phoning and texting her, threatening to kill himself if she did not reconcile with him and threatening to kill her.

However, he breached bail terms by repeatedly phoning his wife and also her mother.

When the pair, who have a young child, met up to talk about their situation, Kortram punched his wife before straddling her and compressing her throat.

At sentencing on Wednesday, defence agent Tommy Allan said that alcohol was an integral factor in the case.

He added that Kortram was “deeply sorry” for his behaviour and that his partner was willing to work on their relationship.

However, Sheriff Philip Mann said that his wife’s support was “not the most important consideration” when deliberating the case, which could have ended in “tragedy”.

He added that the incidents were “so serious that nothing other than a custodial sentence was appropriate” and gave Kortram a total of seven and a half months in jail.