A domestic abuser found guilty by a jury of subjecting women to more than a decade of sickening violence has been jailed for 26 months.
David Ferguson abducted one of his victims and left her scarred for life and he repeatedly throttled women to the point where they struggled to breathe.
Sheriff Gillian Wade said: “He has been assessed as posing a high risk. Witnesses suggested there was some sort of trigger, but they never knew when the trigger would be.
“This was against a background of a controlling environment and coercive behaviour. There was an undercurrent which from time to time would escalate into violence.
“Clearly this was a very serious matter which spanned a lengthy period of time. The date of the first offence was January 1 2005 and then spanned a period until 2017.
“It also involved the abuse of three partners, and whilst you do not accept you were to blame for some of the offences, that is not the view the jury took.”
Sheriff Wade noted that he had left his first victim with a scar on her lip and she imposed an additional nine month period of supervised release.
Perth Sheriff Court was told today the social work report on Ferguson “did not make good reading”, as he continued to downplay what he had done to his victims.
The jury found Ferguson, 44, Flairs Avenue, Arbroath, guilty of assaulting Pauline Myles on various occasions between January 1 2005 and June 16 2006.
He seized and throttled her and repeatedly punched her head and body to her injury and permanent disfigurement during the numerous incidents in Arbroath.
He was also found guilty of abducting Ms Myles on December 10 2006 by locking her in a house and then pushing her over and ripping her clothes during a violent struggle.
Ferguson – who was described by his counsel as a model citizen other than being a domestic abuser – was found guilty of injuring Hayley Adams by kicking her head and body between June 1 2010 and January 31 2011.
The jury convicted him of attacking her on various occasions between January 31 2011 and November 30 2012 by seizing her throat, pulling her hair and punching her head and body.
They also found him guilty of attacking Ms Adams by pushing her onto a bed and forcefully pressing a washing basket down on her face as he rammed her face into the mattress.
Ferguson was also found guilty of assaulting Lynsey Smale by pushing her, seizing her throat, stamping on her and locking her out of her home on various occasions between July 1 2015 and January 15 2017.
His agent told the court that Ferguson’s offences against his partners took place when he had taken too much to drink and had then lost his temper.
He was sentenced to two years, two months in prison with a further nine month supervision order upon release for domestic abuse offences.
Police Scotland commended the victims for coming forward and securing the prosecution.
Detective Inspector Muriel Fuller of the domestic abuse task force said : “Ferguson offended against his partners over a period of 13 years, committing serious physical abuse against them. His conviction and sentence should send out a clear message that Police Scotland will robustly and sensitively investigate domestic abuse related crime.
“I would like to take this opportunity to commend the bravery and courage of the victims who assisted the police with this enquiry.
“We would like to remind anyone who has experienced or is experiencing domestic abuse, it is never too late to report to the police or seek support from one of our partner agencies.”
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