A Fife domestic abuser began harassing his victim with phone calls as soon as he was jailed.
After a jury trial in October 2019, Gordon Thomson was jailed for 41 months and a non-harassment order was imposed until 2026.
He and his former partner of six years had an informal arrangement in place once he arrived at HMP Glenochil in Clackmannanshire that he could call her landline to speak with his children.
Her husband had agreed to take the calls and pass the phone to the children.
However, these calls quickly spiralled out of control and continued after his release from prison in April 2021.
Thomson appeared from custody at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Monday to admit breaching the terms of the order.
Repeated breaches
Fiscal depute Lora Apostalova said Thomson, 36, would routinely call on weekday mornings when he knew his ex-partner was alone with the children.
On one occasion, Thomson asked what would happen to them if something happened to their mother but this was not taken to be a threat.
At another time, Thomson was told not to call back but did so another six times that day.
He was liberated last April and phoned twice from a property in Buckhaven that August.
At this point, his victim contacted police.
Thomson, who is now remanded in HMP Perth, was at liberty on licence at the time, until March 2023.
Thomson admitted breaching the order on various occasions between October 2019 and August 2021.
Regret expressed
His solicitor said: “It was very good of the complainer to allow the informal telephone arrangement to be in place.
“I think it is significant that at no stage was he ever threatening or nasty or abusive.
“It is clear, however, that as time went on, the complainer found the regular calls increasingly oppressive.
“The complainer made it clear to him she’d had enough of his calling.
“It was the two calls that triggered the complainer into phoning the police.
“It is a rather unusual type of harassment my client has engaged in.
“He is extremely regretful about the fact he’s put the complainer through this behaviour, which extended over a long period of time.
“For many months she simply put up with him.
“I think he now knows what he should not be doing.”
Further jail time imposed
Sheriff Alison McKay was told Thomson had spent 11 and a half months on remand.
She jailed him for 18 months backdated to last August.
She said: “Where there’s a non-harassment order in place, the obligation is on you to comply with it.
“It’s you who puts yourself in a difficult situation if you don’t comply or push the boundaries.
“I suspect you now fully understand that.”
For all the latest from the court rooms of Tayside and Fife, join our Facebook group.
