Court / Domestic abuse prison sentence quashed
A MAN from Bressay had his prison sentence quashed at the High Court in Edinburgh earlier this month after appealing a 40-month jail term he received at Lerwick Sheriff Court in January for a raft of domestic abuse charges spanning a period of two decades.
John William Clark instead had a community payback order imposed with two years of supervision and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, which has to be completed within 12 months.
The 53-year-old previously pleaded guilty to 13 charges of domestic abuse against a woman and two girls, committed between 1992 and 2013 at different addresses on the island.
At court in Lerwick on 22 January Clark was described as a complex character whose private life was at odds with his community spirited conduct.
He was further described as acting in a threatening and aggressive manner for a continuous period of 20 years thereby dominating his family’s lives like a “sometimes dormant and sometimes active volcano”.
If you have been affected by crime, help is available. Whether you are victim, a witness, or the accused, you can find independent, impartial, and confidential support in Shetland.
For victims of general crime:
Victim Support Shetland
Phone: 01595744524 or 0800 1601985
Web: https://victimsupport.scot/locations/victim-support-shetland/
Email: VictimSupportHighlandsIslands@victimsupportsco.org.uk
For anyone affected by crime & harm seeking a restorative approach:
Space2face
Phone: 07564 832467
Web: https://www.space2face.org
Email: info@space2face.org
For anyone affected by gender-based violence, including domestic abuse, coercive control, stalking, sexual assault, and rape:
Shetland Women’s Aid
Phone: 01595 692070
Web: https://www.shetlandwa.org
Email: office@shetlandwa.org
The Compass Centre (Shetland Rape Crisis)
Phone: 01595 744402 or 08088 010302
Web: https://www.compasscentre.org
Email: contact@compasscentre.org
For anyone affected by substance use:
Shetland Recovery Hub and Community Network
Phone: 01595 744402
Web: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075791869200
Email: recoveryhub@shetland.gov.uk
Shetland Alcohol & Drug Partnership
Phone: 01595 743060 or 07342 077789
Web: https://shetlandadp.org.uk
Email: shet.sadp@nhs.scot
Substance Use Recovery Service
Phone: 01595 743006
