The former frontman of British rock band Kasabian has pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-fiancee, a day after it was announced he was quitting the band over “personal issues.”
Tom Meighan, 39, admitted assaulting his former fiancee Vikki Ager at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the court confirmed to CNN.
A judge ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
The court had been told Meighan “smelt heavily of intoxicants” as he “threw the victim across the room in a rage,” PA Media news agency reported. Ager hit her head on a hamster cage after being thrown across the room, the agency added.
The defendant also grabbed her leg and struck her on the head before threatening to hit her with a wooden pallet. A child witnessed the assault and contacted police, the judge said, PA reported.
Meighan initially denied the assault, but after watching CCTV footage of it taking place, he told officers he could not watch it any further because it was “horrible,” PA reported.
“I need to take account of the fact that not only did you hurt Ms Ager, you also let down many people – band members and those who love your music. They will be shocked about what you did that night,” the judge told the court.
Kasabian, formed in 1997 in the English city of Leicester, announced the singer’s sudden departure on Monday in a statement posted to its social media channels.
“Tom Meighan is stepping down from Kasabian by mutual consent,” the statement read, explaining only that the lead vocalist “has struggled with personal issues that have affected his behaviour for quite some time.”
Fans were also informed that Meighan plans to “concentrate all his energies on getting his life back on track.”
The band has released six albums since 2004, five of which reached number one in the UK.
Following his guilty plea on Tuesday, the charity Women’s Aid, which works to prevent domestic violence, said it was “disappointing to see Kasabian say the reason their lead singer was leaving the band was due to ‘personal reasons that affected his behaviour’.”
“Today he pleaded guilty to assaulting his former fiancée in front of a child. There is no excuse for abuse,” the group said.