A 34-year-old man was jailed for eight years for multiple violent offences against women and girls in West Lothian. And a man who left his own mother blind in one eye following a savage attack on her was jailed for 16 months.
An Edinburgh chef who raped two former partners and abused a third over a three-year period was jailed for nine years at the High Court in Edinburgh. While, a 54-year-old man who defrauded the University of Edinburgh of over £3.3 million was jailed for seven years.
1. Jailed after blinding his mum
A man who left his own mother blind in one eye following a savage attack on her has been jailed for 16 months. Jonathan Kempston repeatedly punched mum Dorothy Tough to the face during a violent argument in the family home in Edinburgh last year. The brutal assault left Mrs Tough lying in a pool of blood on her kitchen floor and suffering from a ruptured left eyeball. Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the 71-year-old victim has lost the sight in her eye following the attack. Kempston, 41, pleaded guilty to assaulting his mother to her severe injury, permanent disfigurement and permanent impairment when he appeared at the capital court in May. He returned to the dock for sentencing in June where Sheriff Gillian Sharp said due to the “level of violence involved there is no alternative to a custodial sentence”. Sheriff Sharp sentenced Kempston, of Leith, to 16 months in custody. A victim impact statement from Mrs Tough was read out in court stating she had to have three operations to her eye following the attack by her son. She said she has “adjusted well” to the disability but has to wear an eye patch when out in public. The pensioner added she also “copes very well with everyday duties” and the hardest part of the incident is having no contact with her son. | Alexander Lawrie
2. Dental nurse spat on pensioner
A drunk dental nurse woke a pensioner in the middle of the night claiming she needed help with her sick baby before spitting in the woman's face. Shannon O’Donnell launched the shocking attack on 72-year-old Irene Reilly after banging on her front door at around 1.30am in November 2022. O’Donnell also assaulted a factory worker and a police officer by spitting on them during the drunken racist and homophobic tirade in Haddington, East Lothian. Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told despite O'Donnell's claims that evening, she does not have any children and has no memory of carrying out the assaults. Sheriff Matthew Auchincloss imposed a 12 month anti social behaviour order and placed O’Donnell on a supervision order for the same term. She will also have to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work in the community over the next year. | Alexander Lawrie
3. Pensioner abused women and children
A pensioner who carried out a horror campaign of violence against a woman and two children has been jailed and handed non-harassment orders spanning the next 20 years. Martin Fleming, 72, battered the woman and two children over a 17 year period including putting one child in hospital and scarring the second child for life by burning her with a car cigarette lighter. The violent brute also forced one child’s head into a pile of vomit after they could not hold down a bowl of cereal and repeatedly attacked both children with a wet towel. Sheriff Charles Walls sentenced Fleming to an 11 month prison term and issued three non-harassment orders banning him from contacting the victims for a period of 20 years. Fleming pleaded guilty to a series of offences including assault, culpable and reckless conduct and causing unnecessary suffering to a child at several addresses in Edinburgh between January 1, 1975 and September 28, 1992. | Alexander Lawrie
4. Hospital worker stole dementia patient’s bank card
An Edinburgh hospital clinical support worker took a bank card belonging to a dementia patient and withdrew more than £5,000 from the woman’s bank account. Senga Reid found the debit card and PIN number in a folder belonging to a 78-year-old woman while working in a utility room at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. Reid, 52, failed to hand the card in and then used the details to withdraw a total of £5,854.55 from several bank machines across the capital over a four week period last year. The victim’s family eventually noticed the bank card was missing during a hospital visit and after informing management an investigation was launched. Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told Reid did not know who the card belonged to or the medical condition of the patient when she took the card. Reid returned to the dock for sentencing on June 3, where lawyer Nigel Bruce, defending, said his client was “ashamed” and “extremely remorseful” at what she had done. Reid was told to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work and was placed on a supervision order for 18 months. A compensation order for the amount of £5,854.55 was also imposed which is to be paid within 28 days. | Alexander Lawrie