Court / Ex-military man narrowly escapes jail for domestic violence

A LERWICK man has been sentenced to a two-year community payback order for assaulting his ex-partner and a committing a string of thefts from her.

Andrew Lewing, 31, of Ladies Drive, earlier admitted stealing around £3,500 from his ex’s savings on various occasions.

He also admitted assaulting her when she was pregnant on 21 July 2018 and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner and assaulting her on another occasion nearly a year later.

Tommy Allan, defending, said that while Lewing seemed unable to control his pilfering, his violent offences had been against a background of unaccustomed drinking.

Lewing, he said, suffered PTSD [Post-traumatic stress disorder] after serving in the military in Afghanistan and was identified in a social work report as displaying “misogynistic tendencies”.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank told Lewing that the issue was a “total lack of respect for a partner” and ordered him to complete the Respect programme for perpetrators of domestic violence as part of his sentence.

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Lewing will also be under supervision for two years and has to complete 180 hours of unpaid work within six months. The sentence was imposed as an alternative to a jail term.

The sheriff further imposed a compensation order for £3,500 that Lewing is to pay back to his ex-partner.

He finally imposed a non-harassment order and told Lewing not to approach or contact the woman in any way.