VIOLENT PORT GLASGOW ABUSER SENTENCED TO COMMUNITY ORDER
A REMORSELESS thug who inflicted a life-endangering attack on a woman amid months of violent abuse 'accepts very little responsibility' for his brutality, Greenock Sheriff Court has been told.Nathan McKenzie, 20, hit his victim's head against a washing machine in Port Glasgow, punched her on the body, forcibly removed hair from her scalp, bit her on the ear and choked her.
He was originally accused of attempting to remove the woman's underwear and engage in sexual intercourse without her consent, but this was deleted from the final indictment charge.
McKenzie, who was found guilty by a jury of eight charges following an eight-day trial in January, was a teenager at the time of the offences between November 2021 and February 2022.
He was spared further time in prison when he appeared at Greenock Sheriff Court for a sentencing hearing, having spent more than a year on remand - equivalent to a near two-year jail term.
Sheriff Anthony McGeehan told him: "This was an aggravated course of domestic abuse and violent, coercive and controlling behaviour during which you not only caused injury but also danger to life." "You have accepted very little responsibility, you have denied certain offences occurred, apportioned blame to the complainer and used a derogatory term to describe her." Imposing a community-based punishment which includes the maximum amount of unpaid work hours, sex offender notification requirements and a non-harassment order, the sheriff said the sentence 'provides an opportunity for effective rehabilitation'.
The victim spoke of several incidents involving McKenzie, including an instance when he ‘turned up intoxicated and started smashing windows’ at her home.
Jurors later heard evidence from a police officer who attended the woman’s property on the same night and were shown photographs of a blood-spattered front door that had been smashed.
She said that on one occasion when she had to contact police, officers told her to hide from McKenzie in her bathroom and lock the door until they arrived at her home.
McKenzie, represented by instructing solicitor Amy Spencer and defence advocate Andrew Murphy, was assessed in a criminal justice social work report as being of a medium risk of reoffending, the court was told.
During his evidence, he denied losing his temper with the woman and said he ‘deeply’ regretted his involvement with her.
Mr Murphy said: "There is much I would like to say about the case but the jury's verdict is what it is.
"The jury did delete the most significant part of the libel.
"It is imperative that you address this to reduce the potential of harm to future partners." McKenzie will also be required to notify his supervising officer of any new, emerging, intimate or casual relationships.
Referring to a 'pattern of behaviour', Sheriff McGeehan told him: "It is imperative that you address this to reduce the potential of harm to future partners."
