FALMOUTH MAN SENTENCED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ASSAULT

A Ponsanooth man named Scott Norman Wallace, aged 25, from Higher Terrace, Ponsanooth, pleaded guilty to assaulting his former girlfriend, Nia Collier, at Falmouth on December 8. According to the prosecution, Wallace had been violent towards Ms. Collier for about six months into their relationship, with incidents on five or six occasions where he pushed her to the ground, causing injuries. The assault included an episode where Wallace, enraged after she was looking at other men, began to swear and shout at her while they were walking home on December 7. He then swept her legs out from under her, causing her to fall and hit her head on the pavement. Subsequently, Wallace punched her in the mouth, resulting in a large swelling on her forehead and cuts and bruises to her lip. Wallace, who is a kitchen porter, admitted to magistrates that he could not recall much of the evening but accepted the prosecution's account, stating, “I have stopped drinking since this. I just did not know when to stop.” The relationship had since ended. Wallace, who had a previous caution for battery toward his mother, was sentenced to a two-year community order. He was also ordered to pay Ms. Collier £200 in compensation, along with £145 in costs and surcharge.