Victim slams lenient sentence after attack by trainer
Mike Heatlie, who counts superstar Gwen Stefani among his clients, has been ordered to give Fiona McCartney almost £8000 after she lost a tooth when he punched her outside a bar last year.
Heatlie, who previously admitted the assault, was yesterday also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
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Hide AdBut legal worker Ms McCartney, 43, said the sentence was too lenient – and that jail would be more appropriate.
She said: “I’m pleased that he’s been ordered to pay me compensation, however 100 hours for such a violent assault – it doesn’t sent out a good message. I want to move on from this stressful incident, it’s been ten months. He can move on, but I’m looking at up to a year of dental treatment.”
Ms McCartney faces more medical care after Heatlie’s punch damaged two crowns surrounding the tooth which he knocked out. The £7660 compensation order will meet her bill.
She added: “People should know what he’s done, because people – including women – are putting their trust in him.”
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Hide AdHeatlie, 42, approached Ms McCartney and a friend for a cigarette outside The Jam House on Queen Street in the early hours of March 29 last year.
But when they told him they had none, Heatlie, of Western Harbour Breakwater, violently lashed out and left her bleeding and unconscious.
Ms McCartney, of Greenbank, said she used to love going on nights out but was too
frightened to leave her home following the attack.
She claimed that Heatlie sent a text message to her partner to apologise to her, in which he claimed he had “virtually no memory” of the incident.
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Hide AdMs McCartney said: “He said in the message that this incident has turned his life upside down. Well it’s a lot worse for me.”
The trainer, who opened a studio in Meadowbank six years ago, helped No Doubt singer Stefani get into shape for her 2009 concerts. She described him as the “Superman of my tour”.
Stefani said in a testimonial: “Mike is completely passionate about health and fitness and is a wonderful motivator.”
Heatlie previously described the assault as an “unfortunate incident” and said he was keen to move on.