A Dundee man who subjected his partner to a violent campaign of abuse spanning 15 years has been locked up.
Douglas Kay was found guilty of 10 charges following a trial at the city’ sheriff court.
Jurors heard how the 43-year-old attacked the woman while she was pregnant, twice pushed her down stairs and forced a plug into her eye.
Kay was remanded in custody following the verdict and will be sentenced next month.
More than a decade of violence
He was found guilty of assaulting his partner on various occasions between 2005 and 2019 at properties across Dundee.
During this period, he repeatedly threw food, drinks and household items at her and repeatedly placed knives at her neck.
The court heard how he would seize her and compress her neck, bite her, spit at her and stamp on her.
Kay repeatedly punched the woman on her head and body, more than once seized and pulled her hair, repeatedly forced her to the ground and kicked her body and dragged her.
On one occasion, he compressed her neck and punched her head while she was pregnant.
Jurors heard how he shoved her down stairs and, another time, chased and seized her, forcing her against metal bins.
Towards the end of his campaign of violence, he slapped her with such force it caused her to fall backwards and strike her face.
In the final year of his abuse, he pinned her against a wall and headbutted her and also held a knife to her neck before forcing a plug in her eye.
In December 2019, he again pushed her down stairs.
The woman was left “severely” injured.
‘I’m gonna get off with this’
Kay was further convicted of threatening or abusive behaviour towards the woman between 2010 and 2019.
He shouted, swore, called her names, made threats and took possession of her keys.
Kay was found to have forced open a door behind which the woman had taken refuge, pulled a phone out of the wall and refused to allow her to contact her son.
He repeatedly messaged her, forced his way into a property in Dundee she was in, demanded she gave him car keys and threatened to make malicious reports to social workers about her.
Kay refused to leave her home, repeatedly accused her of infidelity and monitored her movements.
Some of this behaviour continued into 2020.
Kay was also found to have climbed onto the roof of a property, locked her inside a different flat and waited in vehicles outside her home.
On one occasion, Kay ranted at a victim without knowing he was being recorded.
Jurors were played the recording, in which he told his victim: “F*** off, see you you piece of s***, you’re the worst piece of s***e I ever met in my life.
“I’m gonna show you something right f***ing now, see when it goes to court, I’m gonna get off with this.
“See after it… see you, you’re gonna get dealt with – you’re f***ing f***ed.”
Campaign of offending
Kay was found guilty of a string of other offences in Dundee.
These included assaulting a man and acting in a threatening or abusive manner towards him by seizing and pushing him, calling him names and making violent threats.
He was found to have assaulted a female – who was left injured – on two occasions, once by striking her foot with a door and once by throwing a ball at her face.
The female was also subjected to threatening or abusive behaviour from Kay.
He called her names, threw garden ornaments and stared in windows at her.
A second male was also injured by Kay.
At a point between 2011 and 2013, he was found to have struck the man on his face, leaving him severely injured.
Kay was found to have acted in a threatening or abusive manner towards another male on various occasions between 2011 and 2020 by shouting, swearing and screaming at him and and calling him names.
Finally, he was also found guilty of missing a court hearing last August.
Guilty
A jury of seven men and eight women found Kay guilty of 10 charges following the trial – nine unanimously.
Prosecutor Lee Corr asked the court to consider imposing non-harassment orders to protect four named people.
He explained that Kay, who has never been jailed before, has previous convictions for domestic offending, breaching bail and assaults, including on one occasion severely injuring a victim.
Defending, Kay’s solicitor John Boyle said: “He’s now 43. He is in full-time employment.
“There is a background of mental health difficulties.”
Risk assessment
Sheriff Paul Brown deferred sentencing until March 11 and remanded Kay.
He said: “I require to defer sentence for reports.
“I will ask the clerk of court to ask social work to provide a risk assessment and look at the question of post-custodial supervision.
“By verdict of the jury, you stand convicted of very serious offences.
“In light of the gravity of these offences, I no longer consider you a suitable candidate for bail.”
After Kay had been taken to the cells, the sheriff told jurors their verdict was “discerning” and added: “I know it’s been a difficult case.
“I know it’s been hard to listen to the evidence in this case.”
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