News / Woman suffered terrifying knifepoint ordeal
A MAN threatened to rape and kill a woman at knifepoint during a terrifying ordeal at her home in Lerwick, the town’s sheriff court heard on Wednesday.
Daniel Moore, aged 41, of 24 Hoofields, Lerwick, pled guilty to assaulting the woman on 20 February this year.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said that Moore had been in the woman’s kitchen while she was cooking when he pulled a six inch knife out of a drawer and demanded sex.
He kept the knife pointed at the woman throughout the three and a half hour ordeal, during which he threatened to cut her clothes off, rape and kill her by 11pm that night.
At one point Moore, who was drinking spirits, pressed the blade of the knife against her chest and ran it down her body, leaving a three inch scratch on her cleavage, the fiscal said.
Eventually the woman managed to escape and drove straight to Lerwick police station where she arrived in “an extremely distressed state” around 10pm.
Two hours later the police tracked down Moore drinking in a local bar and detained him. When interviewed he made a full confession, but claimed he was suffering from post traumatic stress after serving in a number of war zones for the British Army’s Parachute Regiment.
Mr Mackenzie challenged these claims, adding: “This was clearly a deeply upsetting incident for the complainer and it’s not overstating it to say that she was terrified throughout.”
Defence agent Tommy Allan said that Moore had been diagnosed with a bipolar disorder in 2005. At the time he had not been taking his medication and his drinking was making his behaviour worse.
Sheriff Graeme Napier deferred sentence for three weeks until 6 July for social work and psychiatric reports, telling Moore that this was “a very, very serious offence”.
He was released on bail on condition he has no contact with his victim.
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