A Fife man who abused his ex-girlfriend for more than two years after their relationship ended has been jailed.
Stewart Urquhart, 37, sent the woman a picture of a weapons arsenal including rifle, knuckleduster and sword, after they split up.
He repeatedly accused the woman of cheating, threatened to self-harm, shouted and swore and made derogatory remarks about her over a period of more than eight years.
Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard the abuse worsened after the pair separated in January 2019.
Weapons email
Procurator fiscal depute Laura McManus told the court when the woman formed a new relationship, Urquhart repeatedly phoned her.
The fiscal said on one occasion, after the woman’s new partner attempted to contact Urquhart, he sent an email to her containing images of an automatic rifle, knuckleduster, a sword and a baton.
The fiscal said the email text read: “Tell them I will be ready”.
Ms McManus said on another occasion in July 2020 the woman arrived home to find Urquhart outside.
The fiscal depute said: “He called her ‘disgusting’ and said she had been wearing underwear he bought for her while with other men.”
Urquhart would repeatedly phone the woman and tell her he knew her whereabouts, threaten to stop making insurance payments for a car she was using and accuse her of getting her hair and lips done for another man.
He also punched a wall after she refused him access to her phone.
At an earlier hearing, he pled guilty to a charge of engaging in a course of abusive behaviour towards his former partner, between April 2019 and August 2021.
He also admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards her between May 2013 and March 2019.
The offending took place at addresses in Glenrothes.
Sentence
Urquhart, of Birchtree Place, Thornton, appeared in court this week for sentencing.
Defence lawyer Dewar Spence said his client has probably shown greater insight into his behaviour since the crimes than many others who appear in the courts.
Mr Spence asked for a non-custodial sentence by way of supervision, unpaid work, and participation in the Caledonian men’s programme to address abusive behaviour.
Sheriff Charles Macnair told Urquhart: “The offending in this case stretched over a period of about eight and a half years, of coercive and controlling behaviour which was bad during the course of the relationship and became worse after the break up”.
The sheriff jailed him for 13 and a half months and made a five-year non-harassment order in relation to the woman.
The court heard Urquhart had previously been sentenced in the High Court but no more details were given about the offence.
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