Each of their stories start with young love.
But for Hannah Reid, Hannah McLaughlan, Jennifer McCann and Holly Prowse, the next chapters represent the most traumatic years of their lives.
The quartet are survivors of Logan Doig – an Angus rapist jailed for nine-and-a-half years earlier this month after being convicted of attacks on five women between 2015 and 2020.
Glasgow’s High Court heard how he blamed his victims and refused to take responsibility for his sexual crimes.
In recent weeks, four of the women have waived their anonymity to break their silence.
It’s a Thursday night when I speak to them on Zoom in what is their first interview about their ordeal and the bond they have formed is unmistakable.
They are honest, articulate and comfortable discussing their harrowing experiences, despite the group being the target of social media abuse since releasing a joint statement two weeks ago.
‘The mask began to slip’
Hannah Reid was just 14 when she met Doig, of Kirriemuir, through mutual friends.
He went on to rape her four times in two years.
The 23-year-old, from Forfar, says: “It started off like a fairytale. I couldn’t believe someone like him chose to be with someone like me.
“Logan presented himself as the most perfect boyfriend. He always complimented me, telling me how beautiful I was.
“The first few months he was perfect.
“He was absolutely charming in every sense of the word. Then the mask then began to slip.”
Doig would have fits of anger and become furious if she ever “talked back” or didn’t agree with him.
“He would punch holes in the wall beside my head and warn me that it would be my head next,” she adds.
“He became so possessive and controlling, isolating me from everyone.
“After a year I had no friends, I was shutting my family out and I felt completely alone.”
She attempted to confront Doig – but would end up having to comfort him as his manipulation escalated.
Hannah, who is now happily married and mum to a toddler, said: “I tried so many times to leave him but he would threaten me with violence and threaten to take his own life. I was completely trapped.
“I managed to leave finally, only because he had his next victim in sight.”
Hannah McLaughlan was with Doig for nearly two years before ending the relationship in September 2020.
The 25-year-old says it was a whirlwind romance to begin with.
“He made me believe he was everything I had ever wanted. I put him on a pedestal – I never felt good enough for him.
“But looking back, there was so much love bombing at the beginning, he said everything I wanted to hear and I believed him.
“He seemed so genuine and at the time, I believed that we fell in love with each other very quickly.
“Now I realise we were prey and predator.”
By the time she broke up with him, he had convinced her she was “crazy”.
She says: “I felt so broken, I didn’t know who I was anymore. He had spent almost two years chipping away at my confidence, self-worth and constantly denying my reality.
“It got to a point where I felt I couldn’t make decisions without seeking validation from others.
“I couldn’t trust my own judgement. I honestly believed I was crazy and unlovable by the end.”
She adds: “He wouldn’t let me [end the relationship on a number of occasions].
“He would say ‘it’s not your decision’, ‘you’re not thinking clearly’ and ‘you’re being erratic.
“In addition to this, I was guilt tripped and roped back in under false promises of him changing.
“I was trapped in a vicious cycle of abuse.”
‘He tried to strangle me’
Hannah, from Fife, saw Doig one last time about a month after the relationship ended.
He begged her to meet up with him and give him another chance.
She says: “I met him under the impression we were going on a date and we would end up back in a relationship.
“I never could have imagined what would actually happen.
“His behaviour that day was very contradicting. He would be horrible about my appearance and then in the next breath talk about us getting married.
“Then he attempted to strangle me. I’ll never forget the anger in his eyes when he had me by the throat. I knew then I had to get away from him.
“I no longer knew who he was and it was terrifying.
“When he had me by my throat I genuinely thought he was going to kill me.”
She reported Doig to the police after speaking with family and friends.
After that, Hannah chose to disclose the sexual abuse she experienced during the relationship.
She said: “Over time other survivors of Logan came forward. We created a group chat called ‘safe space’ to provide a safe space where we could share, listen and validate one another.
“This group chat was our support network and without it I do not believe we would have made it to court.”
‘That person didn’t exist’
Jennifer McCann first met Doig on August 27, 2018 at Dundee & Angus College’s Gardyne Campus.
He raped her in the early hours of September 8 in her student accommodation.
Jennifer, 17 at the time, still blames herself for letting him into the flat.
Now 22, she says: “The turnaround from that seemingly nice boy I was getting to know to the monster who raped me was quick.”
Jennifer says they started off with flirty banter and late night chats before a breakfast date on the morning of September 7, which left her thinking “he was just the ideal guy”.
She adds: “That’s the role he played and the act he put on but that person didn’t exist.
“I wish I had seen through that before it was too late, but there were no warning signs.
“I let him into my flat that night and that’s something I have spent so long blaming myself for.
“But I can’t blame my younger self for not being able to see through the façade that he was so good at putting on.”
Two years passed before Doig met Holly Prowse when they shared university accommodation in Edinburgh.
The couple began a relationship within a couple of days of knowing each other.
Holly, 23, says: “At the beginning he was a charming guy that sucked me in quickly with the love bombing started almost instantly.
“He was good with his words, always complimented me and made me feel wanted but he knew exactly what I wanted to hear.”
It wasn’t long before the abuse began.
Holly, from Glasgow, says: “It started with verbal abuse and lies, then the physical abuse started.
“He believed I owed myself to him, that he owned my body and he was in control of me, something he would say regularly and make me repeat back to him as if for his own validation.
“If I didn’t, I would be met with violence.”
‘He no longer has a hold over me’
Doig raped Holly in the early hours of November 1, 2020.
She says: “I’ve really lost myself these past few years. He’s made me to feel uncomfortable in my own skin.”
Saying the name Logan Doig to a therapist was something she found difficult initially.
She adds: “Now I can say his name with pride knowing he can’t do anything anymore.
“He no longer has a hold over me. It’s finally my turn to take control of my life.”
At Glasgow High Court, Doig was convicted of raping and sexually assaulting four young women, and sexually assaulting a fifth.
He was given a 12-and-a-half-year extended sentence, which includes nine-and-a-half behind bars, and was also put on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.
Lord Clark said he gave Doig – who committed all the offences while he was aged between 15 and 21 – a shorter sentence than one that would have been handed to an older offender due to sentencing guidelines on young people.
The judge condemned him for blaming his accusers and refusing to accept responsibility.
But giving evidence against Doig in court was a distressing episode for the quartet who issued a plea for justice reform, to help other victims of rape and sexual assault “feel less alone”.
‘Going public has shown us how much needs to change’
Holly says: “I started to lose touch with why I spoke up. The justice system isn’t always on the victims’ side.
“You are made to feel like you are the criminal as they try paint you as a scarlet woman for the vicious things someone has done to you.
“It’s traumatising enough reliving everything but being made to feel like it’s your fault is another level.”
She adds: “No amount of years will erase the pain I went through.
“For the longest time I couldn’t be left alone as my mental health was getting worse.
“I’m still on my journey with healing but when I look back at what he made me a couple years ago, I’m so proud of myself.
“Going public has proved to us how much change needs to be done in society.
“We’ve had a lot of support but the amount of hate we’ve had for speaking up and being brave is crazy.”
Hannah McLaughlan hopes speaking out can make a difference.
However, she found the process – from reporting to trial – dehumanising and retraumatising.
“The justice system must become more victim-centred, more trauma informed and there needs to be stricter guidelines on what defence lawyers can say to a victim giving evidence at trial,” she adds.
“I felt like I was fighting for my life in that witness box. I felt I was being humiliated, mocked, undermined, scrutinised and made out to be something I am not – a liar.”
The survivors – who each, at some stage, considered walking away from it all – sat together holding hands in solidarity as Doig was sentenced.
Hannah says: “Any amount of time he got would not be long enough. We have all been given a life sentence.
“We have been left to pick up the pieces, discover who we are, work through the trauma we have endured because of him.
“The impact this has had on my mental and physical health is impossible to put into words.”
‘Abuse is nothing to be ashamed of’
Jennifer admits the quest for justice was a living nightmare at times, saying: “I was in denial for a very long time and the prospect of reporting it and going to court haunted me.
“I had pretended it didn’t happen and convinced myself it was some form of bad dream that eventually I would wake up from.
“Looking back at the impact this has had on my life has been insane in the saddest way.
“Not being able to finish college or university, fleeing the country to find some form of escape, engaging in unhealthy and self-sabotaging behaviours because my mental health was eating me alive, completely losing myself and not knowing where to find her again.
“The worst part of it all was grieving the person I could have been had this not happened.
“It is so important to spread the message that no matter how you cope, no matter what your story looks like, no matter if or when you report, no matter how you chose to heal, it is all valid.”
Hannah Reid was initially terrified to talk about what had happened to her, afraid of what people would think.
It was only after connecting with the other survivors – through a group chat which they named safe space – she realised he had to be stopped.
Of the vitriol aimed at the women on social media, she says: “We have been told we are attention seekers and that we have colluded together to ruin his life.
“But we waived our right to anonymity to show abuse is nothing to be ashamed of.
“It is not our shame to carry – that shame belongs to the abusers.”
If you, or someone you know, have been affected by any issues raised in this article, support and information is available from Rape Crisis Scotland. Samaritans can also be contacted – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org ,or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
