A man who abducted his “terrified” ex-girlfriend by pushing her into a car and driving off has avoided a prison sentence.
Iain Kelly stormed into the home of his former partner, who immediately began hyperventilating as he was subject to a court order to stay away from her.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard Kelly, 40, then physically forced the woman outside and into his car before speeding off.
Thankfully, when the car slowed down a short time later the woman seized the opportunity and managed to escape.
Woman received dozen of unsolicited messages from accused
Fiscal depute Lydia Ross told the court that on August 5 last year, Kelly’s ex was on Facebook at her home in Aboyne when she noticed he had liked several of her older posts.
As a result, she changed her security settings so Kelly couldn’t see her social media posts.
Despite this, the woman received a friend request from an account that appeared to be from Kelly’s mother – who claimed he was “getting himself together”.
Kelly’s cover was blown, however, when he began sending messages such as “I need to talk to you” and “I’d never harm you, baby”.
She then received a further 25 similar messages from the same account, Ms Ross said.
Abduction incident
Later that day, three friends came over to the woman’s house as they were going out.
While she was upstairs getting ready, Kelly arrived in his car and walked straight into the house and stated to the woman’s friends: “What the f*** are you doing in my house?”
Kelly then walked up the stairs and into her former partner’s bedroom where he demanded to speak with her.
She immediately began shouting for her friends to come to her aid and started to hyperventilate at the sight of seeing her ex.
In order to keep Kelly away from her child, the woman then allowed him to take her downstairs – but he then grabbed her elbow and pulled her outside towards his white Mitsubishi.
When they reached the vehicle he shoved her hard on the back, causing her to fall into the driver’s seat and into the main console of the car, Ms Ross said.
Kelly then shoved her further into the car and got in himself and drove off.
Seeing her friends on the phone, Kelly warned them: “You better not be on the phone to the police!”
When the car slowed down, the woman opened the car door and dashed back to her home.
Ms Ross told the court that during a subsequent police interview, the woman told officers she was “terrified” of Kelly.
Kelly, of Dinnet, near Aboyne, pleaded guilty to one charge of abduction and an additional charge of breaching a court order not to contact the woman in any way.
‘Really nasty’
Defence solicitor Jenny Logan told the court that her client “understands the seriousness of what’s happening today”.
“At the time Mr Kelly was struggling with his mental health and was using alcohol and drugs – he has told me he is now trying to turn his life around, ” she said.
“He is very apologetic for what has happened.”
Sheriff Shirley McKenna told Kelly: “These are unacceptable situations to get yourself into, especially the abduction charge which is really nasty.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, the sheriff made Kelly subject to a community payback order and ordered him to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.
She also put a non-harassment order in place, meaning Kelly cannot approach his ex-girlfriend for two years.
“Your conduct has caused alarm to this woman – it’s important to protect her from any further contact from you,” Sheriff McKenna added.
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