Sandwick man ordered to be of good behaviour after admitting domestic abuse

A SANDWICK man has been ordered to be of good behaviour for six months after admitting abusing his former partner earlier this year.

Steven Jamieson, 54, admitted repeatedly acting in an aggressive manner and uttering offensive and threatening remarks to the woman at their Sandwick address between 15 April and 6 May.

He also admitted repeatedly waking her from her sleep.

After being together for 26 years, and married for 19 of those, the relationship between Jamieson and his former partner was coming to an end during the period libelled, Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said it was “fair to say” that Jamieson’s anger issues “have been a cause of difficulty” in the relationship.

Jamieson “would regularly shout and swear” about various things, the court was told, which could include domestic matters such as clothes in the laundry basket.

He and his now former partner had been undergoing couples counselling, in which it had been spelled out to Jamieson how his behaviour was affecting his partner.

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The court heard that two incidents in particular had been particularly bad during the libelled dates. One of these saw Jamieson fly into a rage after a political comment he had made on Facebook was discussed at the kitchen table.

Jamieson went into a 20 minute tirade and was “shouting and swearing”, court heard.

On 5 May the complainer was woken by Jamieson three times in the night – twice to complain she was taking the blankets, and once to complain about the position she was sleeping in.

After the children left for school the next morning Jamieson again began complaining about the bed covers, and the woman decided to tell him that the relationship was over.

Jamieson started “shouting and swearing at her”, Mackenzie said, including calling her a “f***ing b**** and f***ing c***”.

She left the home with the assistance of a family member, but was followed by Jamieson until police were called.

The woman was keen to see a non-harassment order imposed, Mackenzie added.

Asked what remarks made were specifically threatening, the fiscal said Jamieson had told her that there were no threats of physical violence but comments instead to take the home and children away from her.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said Jamieson had been diagnosed last year with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as rejection sensitivity dysphoria.

He said he had “invested heavily” in private counselling to deal with his anger issues previously, and “done what he can to address that”.

Jamieson has had a “lifelong struggle” with his anger, and knows that in “difficult situations he is not equipped to deal with that”.

Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald called this an “extreme and serious reaction” to the breakdown of his marriage and said it had affected everybody in the household.

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However she deferred sentence for Jamieson to be of good behaviour for the next six months.

Jamieson was told not to contact his former partner unless through a third party, and only for the purposes of sorting out the end of their marriage or for dealing with any child welfare issues.

He will return to court on 25 November.