Court / Ex-military man narrowly escapes jail for domestic violence

A LERWICK man has been sentenced to a two-year community payback order for assaulting his ex-partner and a committing a string of thefts from her.

Andrew Lewing, 31, of Ladies Drive, earlier admitted stealing around £3,500 from his ex’s savings on various occasions.

He also admitted assaulting her when she was pregnant on 21 July 2018 and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner and assaulting her on another occasion nearly a year later.

Tommy Allan, defending, said that while Lewing seemed unable to control his pilfering, his violent offences had been against a background of unaccustomed drinking.

Lewing, he said, suffered PTSD [Post-traumatic stress disorder] after serving in the military in Afghanistan and was identified in a social work report as displaying “misogynistic tendencies”.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank told Lewing that the issue was a “total lack of respect for a partner” and ordered him to complete the Respect programme for perpetrators of domestic violence as part of his sentence.

Lewing will also be under supervision for two years and has to complete 180 hours of unpaid work within six months. The sentence was imposed as an alternative to a jail term.

The sheriff further imposed a compensation order for £3,500 that Lewing is to pay back to his ex-partner.

He finally imposed a non-harassment order and told Lewing not to approach or contact the woman in any way.