A man caused his new girlfriend to fear she was about to die as he strangled her during a terrifying attack in her own home in Aberdeenshire.
Adam Perrat, 21, punched and throttled the frightened woman, who couldn’t breathe during the ordeal.
He showed no emotion as he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court via video link from prison on Friday when he was jailed for the traumatic episode.
Perrat, who pled guilty to the attack, had met his victim through social media in June 2022 when they began a relationship together.
But things took a horrible turn just weeks later, after Perrat turned up to the woman’s home in Rosehearty “under the influence” of something with a “strange demeanour”.
‘She was terrified and thought she was going to die’
Fiscal depute David Rogers told the court that the couple watched a movie together before going to bed but an “argument ensued” into the early hours of August 26 2022.
He said Perrat punched his partner “multiple times on the head and face” despite her pleas for him to stop.
Perrat had replied, “You’ll learn” and the woman started screaming.
The court heard that Perrat “grabbed her by the neck with both hands” and “started squeezing and applying pressure to her throat”.
Perrat then moved so the heel of his hand was on her throat.
“She struggled to breathe, felt dizzy and her eyesight became blurred,” Mr Rogers said, adding: “She was unable to say how long this had lasted, but states it felt like a long time.
“She was terrified and thought she was going to die.”
Perrat kept telling his girlfriend to “shut up” and that “no one was going to help her”.
A neighbour heard “shouting and screaming” coming from the house and also a female voice crying and shouting, “Stop, stop, am sorry, am sorry”.
Adam Perrat woke up the next day, simply said goodbye and left
The woman managed to free herself, Mr Rogers said, but Perrat once again pounced.
He grabbed her from behind – pinning her to the ground – and again throttled her as he applied pressure to her neck.
The woman tried to call for help but Perrat took her phone away and refused to give it back.
She waited until he fell asleep but was still too afraid to do anything.
The court heard that once Perrat had woken up, around noon the following day, he simply said goodbye and left.
It was only then that the woman felt able to ask for help.
She attended the hospital in Fraserburgh and later contacted the police.
The court heard the victim had suffered a haematoma to her right eye; bruising to her face, throat and both forearms; a haemorrhage to her right eye and pressure marks on her neck.
‘Capable of extreme violence’ with ‘a lack of empathy’
Perrat’s defence counsel Mr Jones said his client felt “deep regret” for what happened, adding it “must have been awful” for his victim.
Sheriff Andrew Miller considered a social work report about Perrat which referred to him as being “capable of extreme violence” and showing “a lack of empathy”.
The sheriff decided that Perrat would not be suitable for a community payback order because he was too much of a risk to the public.
“This was of a very serious nature,” Sheriff Miller said. “The impact it had on the victim was made clear in her victim statement”.
He sentenced Perrat to four years in prison, reduced to three years – due to his age and guilty plea.
Perrat, a prisoner at HMP & YOI Polmont, was also ordered by the court not to approach his victim for the next five years “by phone, text or any other means”.
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