Tinder thug dodges jail despite battering his FIFTH girlfriend in horrific attack after judge rules he’s less of a risk free
A TINDER thug was spared jail today after attacking his fifth victim – after a judge ruled he would pose less of a risk to women if he was free.
Bodybuilder Paul Anderson, 41, met Carly McCabe, 38, on the dating app and went on to attack her during their six-month relationship, while abusing steroids and cocaine.
Carly told the court the thug held a knife to her throat after kicking and punching her in the head and body during the savage beating at her home in Paisley, Scotland.
The mum-of-four had no idea Anderson had a host of previous convictions for mistreating four former partners, including assaults, breaches of the peace and stalking.
And the muscle-bound brute stayed true to form, attacking Carly so badly she thought she was going to die.
He carried out the assault while taking steroids in a bid to help him drop from 90kg to 80kg for an amateur bodybuilding show in Newcastle.
Anderson confessed to the beating in a phone call to Carly where he begged for her forgiveness, blaming his actions on drugs including cocaine.
BRUTAL ASSAULT
But he refused to accept responsibility for his actions, pleading not guilty to the charges he faced at Paisley Sheriff Court.
He lied about the events of the night brazenly claiming she had attacked him.
Carly said Anderson grabbed her by the hair, kneed her in the face and dragged her from her sun room into her kitchen and smacked her head off her worktop.
She claims he then threw her to the ground before punching and kicking her on the face and back.
She added: “Then I saw him reaching for a knife. He was towering above me.
“He drew the knife along my throat, very lightly, to frighten me, obviously.
“He said something to me like, ‘you’re a vile piece of s***, I’ve never done anything like this to any woman before’.
“Then he got the knife again and very quickly pushed it towards my chest, but stopped just in front of my breastbone and said, ‘you’re not f***ing worth the time’.
“I was screaming for my kids and I was telling him to stop.
“I didn’t want to die and I thought I was going to die.”
Anderson, of Barmill, Ayrshire, denied he had done anything wrong at her home in St James Avenue, Paisley, near Glasgow – saying he had acted in self-defence.
He admitted he had broken his bail conditions by speaking to Carly in a phone call a few weeks after the attack.
I was telling him to stop. I didn’t want to die and I thought I was going to die
She was unaware Anderson had convictions for abusing four former partners, including three assault convictions, a domestic stalking and breaches of the peace towards his ex-girlfriends.
The jury deleted the majority of the assault charge against him, convicting him of assaulting Carly by pushing her.
But they also convicted him of behaving in a threatening or abusive way towards her and breaking his bail conditions by contacting her.
Sheriff Frances McCartney called for background reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing warning Anderson he would likely be jailed when he returned to the dock.
She said: “In spite of the deletions, this is still an assault to injury and I take a very serious view of it.
“You have six previous convictions for domestic offences and custody is at the forefront of my mind.
“You should not take the fact that I am releasing you on bail as any indication of my willingness to impose a custodial sentence.”
But, when Anderson returned to the dock today to learn his fate, the sheriff ruled he was such a danger to women that jailing him would do no good.
She explained: “I accept the submissions in the (social work background) report that work requires to be done in terms of your behaviour.
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“You are assessed as a high risk of further domestic abuse offending, and a high risk of further spousal assault.”
She placed him on a three-year-long Community Payback Order which will see him supervised by social workers, ordering him to attend the Caledonian domestic abuse programme.
The Sherriff said that was “due to the information in the (social work background) report about the risk you pose to future partners.”
He was also told to carry out 250 hours’ unpaid work, was fined £200, and was made the subject of a five-year-long Non-Harassment Order, which bans him from approaching or contacting Carly, entering her street or posting about her on social media.
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