Former Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan has been sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid community service after pleading guilty to assaulting his ex-fiancee.
Meighan appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday in relation to an incident on 9 April this year and pleaded guilty after watching “horrible” CCTV footage of himself assaulting his ex Vikki Ager.
According to London’s Evening Standard newspaper, as he sentenced Meighan to 200 hours unpaid work, District Judge Nick Watson told the shamed star: “Ms Ager has not made a statement to police and does not appear to support this prosecution.
“Of course, that choice does not mean I should treat this offence any less seriously. You knocked Ms Ager over on more than one occasion and put your hands to her throat.”
Detailing the assault captured on video, he added: “You hit her in the face and pushed her into a hamster cage, which resulted in injury to her head. You threatened her with a wooden pallet. It seems you thought better of it, thankfully, and threw it down on the hot tub aggressively. Throughout most of the video she could be seen fighting you off.”
Explaining his sentencing, he went on to say: “There are a number of things which make this offence more serious. A child was witness to this behaviour and she must have been frightened over what was happening. The police have been called before and there is evidence of previous abusive behaviour. Ms Ager says what happened was an isolated event.”
The judge also said that Meighan had “let down” his former bandmates, who axed him from the group by “mutual consent” on Monday, as well as fans. However, he nonetheless spared Meighan from jail, acknowledging he has “recognised” he has a problem with alcohol.
In their statement, announcing the 39-year-old singer’s departure, the group said: “Kasabian have announced today that Tom Meighan is stepping down from the band by mutual consent. Tom has struggled with personal issues that have affected his behaviour for quite some time and now wants to concentrate all his energies on getting his life back on track.”
Meighan later issued his own statement claiming he was in a “good place”.
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