SELKIRK DOMESTIC ABUSER SPARED JAIL DESPITE LEAVING PARTNER WITH FRACTURED EYE SOCKET
A 26-year-old man who left his partner with horrific facial injuries has walked free from court despite a sheriff saying the case had clearly crossed the custody threshold.Archie Shepherd attacked the woman after the pair had been drinking at a neighbour’s house in September 2024.
The assault left her needing hospital treatment, where medics found she had suffered a fractured eye socket and a broken nose.
She was also left with serious swelling to her face, headaches and blurred vision.
Police traced Shepherd to an address in Coldstream on the morning of September 9, 2024, before taking him into custody.
At Selkirk Sheriff Court, his solicitor accepted the matter was extremely serious and acknowledged that prison had been justified.
However, the defence argued there were still alternatives available, saying the relationship had been toxic and claiming the violence was said to be out of character.
The court also heard Shepherd had a history of alcohol and drug misuse, but was now said to be abstinent, in employment, and keen to support his child financially.
Sheriff Robert Fife condemned the violence as “quite dreadful” and made clear he would otherwise have jailed Shepherd for 22 months.
Instead, he imposed a community payback order as an alternative to custody.
That sentence includes 24 months of supervision, attendance on the Caledonian Men’s Programme, and 200 hours of unpaid work to be completed within two years.
The sheriff warned that any breach could see Shepherd sent to prison for the 22-month term.
A non-harassment order was also granted, banning him from contacting the woman except for arrangements relating to child contact.
On top of that, Shepherd, whose address was given as Jedburgh, was fined £300 and ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge after breaching bail by being in the woman’s company.
Closing the case, the sheriff made clear the sentence should not be mistaken for leniency, telling Shepherd he had only avoided prison because of the case put forward by his solicitor.
