Fife siege sex offender jailed

A sex offender who lobbed a slow cooker, a vacuum cleaner and a burning towel at police during an armed siege in Fife has been jailed.

Adam Smith triggered a chaotic stand-off which lasted for several hours at his home in Cellardyke.

A hoard of items were thrown by Smith, who took hold of a knife and refused to allow the police access.

Smith, 25, was previously jailed in 2021 after having sex with an underage girl and encouraging her to self-harm.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard how during the October 4 siege on March Crescent, Cellardyke, Smith shouted, swore and threw a vacuum and a slow cooker from the first floor window.

A variety of “crockery and utensils” were thrown out to the street, with Smith in possession of a knife at the time.

Police officers were threatened and Smith threw a burning towel from the window before setting fire to a jacket and causing damage to a window.

Detective Constable Nicola Howell was assaulted by Smith when she was struck on the body with a carton of milk.

Smith, remanded at HMP Perth, returned to court for sentencing following the preparation of a social work report.

He also previously admitted breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), imposed at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

At Lawrence Court, Buckhaven and elsewhere between September 7 and October 1 this year, Smith illegally possessed a mobile phone without his supervising officer’s knowledge.

Smith threatened his former partner and another man with violence between October 1 and 2 at the same address.

Solicitor Kerr Sneddon said that although Smith was being monitored through the SHPO, he wasn’t receiving any form of support in the community.

“That (the support) is something that he needs,” Mr Sneddon said of Smith, who has breached other court orders in the past.

“There are reservations from the social work department and I understand that.

“My client knows the offences are bad. He has a bad record so he cannot complain if he is sent to jail.”

Mr Sneddon said Smith had a learning difficulty as well as ADHD which had contributed to his offending.

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael said: “You have pled guilty to serious offences.

“Sexual Harm Prevention Orders are made to protect the public and any breach of such an order is serious.

“It’s now clear there are no realistic alternatives to a custodial sentence.

“This is needed in order to adequately express the public’s disapproval of such behaviour, to adequately punish you and to deter others from behaving in similar ways.”

Smith was sentenced to nine months in prison.

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