Assault trial details

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Assault accused claims he was framed by jilted women
A THURSO man has been cleared of all but one of six charges of assault on two women
John Lamont, 50, criticised former girlfriends, Wendy McLeod and Vera Graham after the jury's verdicts, accusing them of fabricating evidence because he jilted them.
The jury at Wick Sheriff Court took a total of eight hours to come to their decisions. They found five of the historic charges not proven, by a majority and the sixth, guilty by a majority.
That incident involved him assaulting Vera Graham at his home in Rose Street, Thurso, on August 2nd or 3rd, 2011. It happened after Ms Graham turned up in high heels and opened her trench coat to reveal white lingerie, in a bid to "lighten his mood" after they had differed over holiday money.
But the sexy overture had the opposite effect to the one she had hoped for. Lamont, who had already ended the relationship, shouted at her, repeatedly punched her, pushed her out of the front door causing her to fall down a short flight of steps and strike her head on the ground, all to her injury.
After the six days trial, Lamont accused Ms McLeod and Ms Graham of collaborating to make false claims in a bid to get him into trouble because he had "broken their hearts".
"The things they claimed just never happened" he added.
Lamont was accompanied by his partner, Audrey Budge - the accused was said during the trial to be in "a stable, loving relationship" with her - when he left the court.
Ms Budge, who had supported Lamont from the public benches throughout the trial, described the two women as "wolves in sheeps' clothing" and made the point that that she had been with 'John' for four years and had never had any cause for concern.
Lamont had pleaded not guilty on indictment to all six charges.
Four of the five not proven verdicts accused Lamont of assaults on Wendy McLeod, punching her pushing her head through plasterboard and pushing her head under water in the bathroom of his then home in Leitch Court, Thurso, and striking her with an ironing board at his present home in the town's Rose Street. The fifth not proven charge accused him of a second assault on Vera Graham by seizing her by the throat, at the same address. All the allegations covered a period from April 1, 2008 to June, 2011.
Earlier, after the jurors - 12 women and three men -had given their verdicts, Sheriff Andrew Berry called for a background report before he sentences Lamont on the single guilty charge, on August 3.
Defence solicitor George Mathers suggested that the question of a non-harrassment order, raised by fiscal Fraser Matheson, might not relevant as Ms Graham was now living in England.