Yellowknife (Oct 10/03) - A Yellowknife man will spend five months in jail for assaulting his girlfriend and violating a probation order, a judge ruled Tuesday.

It was the second time in the last five months the 25-year-old man was convicted in territorial court of beating a woman.

According to an agreed statement of facts, he slapped his girlfriend and tossed her around by the hair on July 15th behind St. John Franklin high school. He was drunk at the time.

Witnesses called police. They found the couple huddled on the rocks, crying.

As he was being arrested the man yelled "I love you" to his girlfriend, then said "This is all your fault you f----ing bitch" and threatened to hang, burn and kill her.

In court, the man apologized for his actions and said he has been suffering from severe depression since the death of two close family members earlier this year.

"I'm sorry for my actions and my lack of judgement.

"(My depression) led to a serious drinking problem," he said.

Before an April conviction for assaulting his girlfriend, the man had been out of trouble for five years, said defence lawyer Graham Watt.

Territorial Court Chief Judge Michel Bourassa was not impressed. "He's not as pure as the driven snow. I see 14 criminal convictions on his record," Bourassa said.

"He's clearly out of control when he's drunk."

Bourassa sentenced than man to three months in jail for the assault and one month each for two breaches of probation.