Daily Mail
September 20, 2014
A father who dragged his ex-girlfriend from her bed by her hair before cutting it off in a jealous rage was today jailed for a year.
Ian Hassen, 28, took Rebecca Watton, 29, from her bed and chopped off her long hair with scissors, leaving her bruised and almost bald.
Mother-of-three Miss Watton, of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, had been in a relationship with the father of her children for eight years before the pair split in December 2012.
But Hassen, originally from Zimbabwe, refused to accept the relationship was over and launched a prolonged attack on his former partner in April last year.
He had stayed at Miss Watton’s home uninvited for three days after looking after their children when she went on a rare night out.
Hassen launched the attack as their three children sat watching cartoons on TV downstairs after finding messages on Miss Watton’s phone from another man.
Miss Watton only escaped his clutches after convincing him to take her shopping – and she secretly begged staff to call the police.
Hassen was arrested outside the shop after Miss Watton took off a hat she was wearing to show officers the shocking injuries he had inflicted.
At Hamilton Sheriff Court, Hassen was sentenced to 12 months behind bars. He had earlier admitted assaulting Miss Watton.
Describing her ordeal, Miss Watton said: ‘Suddenly he just grabbed me and pulled something tight around my neck. Everything was a blur, but I knew that this was only the very beginning.
‘He tied me up and questioned me endlessly about what I’d been up to the night before and who I had been with.
‘I knew he had obviously read my phone so I confessed I had met someone at the night out who had taken my number and asked me out on a date.’
She added: ‘Without saying a word, he grabbed me by the ponytail that my long hair was tied in and dragged me out of bed. My hair felt like it was being ripped out by the roots and the pain was excruciating.
‘Tears streamed down my face and I thought he was going to kill me. Then he started pulling at my hair and I heard the clicking sound of the blades.
‘I knew then he was cutting my hair off. I could feel the blades opening and snapping shut against my scalp. He wanted to make me unattractive, like less of a woman.’