Man who assaulted woman and girl in Inverness jailed 24 January 2014 Last updated at 12:09 A man who stabbed a woman with a pair of scissors and assaulted a girl who was trying to protect her has been jailed for three years and nine months. Martin McGinley, 33, repeatedly struck Lynne McGregor, 36, with the scissors during the assault on 27 May last year at a home they shared in Inverness. He also stabbed the nine-year-old girl on the arm as she twice stepped in try to protect Ms McGregor. The court heard Ms McGregor remained supportive of McGinley. The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Ms McGregor hoped they could live together again. Defence advocate Bill Adam said she believed the attack would not have happened if his mental health had not deteriorated. Judge Lord Bannatyne noted that McGinley had "a lengthy and significant background of offending." As a teenager he had been given a seven year sentence for attempted murder. He was sent back to jail for his part in a disturbance after he was released on licence. Background reports concluded McGinley was a risk both to himself and to the public, said the judge. Jailing McGinley, Lord Bannatyne said: "This must have been, on any view, a terrifying experience for the victims." McGinley was accused of attempting to murder Ms McGregor. In court, his guilty plea to a reduced charge of assaulting her to her severe injury and scarring her for life was accepted. McGinley also admitted leaving the girl scarred by striking her on the arm with scissors.