Man jailed for domestic abuse

Ten-week sentence handed down

A man who was found guilty of common assault on his partner has been jailed for 10 weeks.

Fifty-four-year-old Gary Christian, whose address was given as Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, carried out the assault on the Isle of Man in December last year and was convicted on 31 May.

The court heard he had dragged his then-partner across a room and kicked her in the back during a domestic incident.

Advocate Paul Glover said whilst Christian had denied the assault, he had apologised to his former partner for the incident, in which she had suffered light bruising.

He called it a "one-off" incident in the heat of the moment and suggested it could be dealt with by a financial penalty, as Christian was hoping to start a new job in Manchester.

However, Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes said it was a serious offence in which alcohol was involved, albeit that its effects had been underestimated.

She told Christian she wasn't satisfied he had been entirely honest and was concerned at his denial to accept any responsibility or show empathy for his victim.

Mrs Hughes said the courts must show that incidents of drunken domestic violence such as these were not acceptable and there were no grounds to suspend the sentence.