A thug who poured fuel on a pregnant woman and warned he would set her alight has been jailed for four and a half years.
Aaron Bell put his victim through a horrific ordeal at a house in Dundee, with a judge pointing out he appeared to find it funny.
Jurors heard how two other petrified women later suffered at the violent 33 year-old’s hands.
Bell was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday, having earlier been convicted of a total of five charges.
He was guilty of assaulting the first woman and behaving in a threatening manner towards her.
Bell committed the same crimes against the second woman.
He was finally convicted of engaging in a course of controlling and abusive behaviour towards the last victim.
The charges spanned between 2016 and 2020 at different addresses in Dundee.
Terrifying ordeals
Judge Tony Kelly said heavily-tattooed Bell had “systemically” preyed on each woman.
He went on: “One spoke of a terrifying ordeal at your hands.
“Amongst other things you doused her in fuel, threatening to set her on fire, while she was heavily pregnant.
“For some reason, you saw humour in this conduct.”
The court heard Bell, of Dundee, strangled the woman with a car seatbelt.
The second victim was left with a serious nose injury after being assaulted.
Judge Kelly said: “You drove a car towards her.
“Both have confirmed the enduring effects towards them. That is unsurprising.”
“Life with you must have been a constant, appalling and terrifying nightmare.”
— Judge Tony Kelly
The final woman’s misery included her being locked in a house and she had to climb out a window to escape.
As well as assaulting her, Bell took money out her bank account, kept tabs who she contacted and interfered with her mail.
He also snapped a photo of her in her underwear, which he refused to delete it even though she begged him to.
Judge Kelly said: “Despite her clear distress, you continued to engage in it.
“Life with you must have been a constant, appalling and terrifying nightmare.”
Bell was also handed non-harassment orders banning him from contacting the women for the next five years.
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