'Giggling' rapist jailed for eight years

Thomas Gordon, 54, formerly of Allen Grove, carried out painful sex attacks on two women, one of whom had suffered a medical condition that made the act dangerous, and showed "utter indifference" to a victim's protests.

The heavy gambler got money out of a third woman and threatened to send topless pictures of her to work colleagues and to post them on line during a stalking campaign.

He read her private information in messages and emails, contacted her family and sent her employer malicious messages about her.

A judge told Gordon at the High Court in Edinburgh that he had been convicted of charges involving "a course of controlling, abusive and threatening conduct" against three victims which included assault and rape.

Lady Scott said he presented a danger to women and added: "All of your victims have been badly damaged by your conduct."

Gordon had denied a string of charges but was found guilty of two offences of rape and further crimes of assault and threatening and offensive behaviour.

The crimes were committed at addresses in Comrie and at a park in Aberdour between 2010 and 2016.

Police Scotland's Detective Sergeant Mark Kane said: "Thomas Gordon is an individual who presented a significant risk to women.

"It is only through the courage of his victims in coming forward and reporting what he had done, that he has now been brought to justice and I hope the sentence today brings some form of closure for these women.

"There is no time limit for anyone who has suffered abuse to come forward. It is never too late to report to the police or to seek support and advice from one of our partner agencies, such as Womens Aid.

"Equally, I hope this conviction sends a clear message to perpetrators that the passage of time is no barrier to investigations, nor access to justice for victims.

"Police Scotland will robustly investigate all reports of domestic, sexual and physical abuse, regardless of when it took place."

During the trial, one woman told jurors that after she was raped by Gordon and in pain and discomfort he seemed to find it funny. She added: "Of course, he is sick in the head."

A nurse, who was also raped by Gordon, said she had tried to push him away and told him "no, it was too sore" but he just giggled during her ordeal.

One woman who met him online discovered that he was "very paranoid" and would accuse her falsely of cheating on him.

She said: "He would email people on my email or phone list asking them extremely personal questions. 'When did we last meet? Have we ever had sex? When did we last have sex?' He would pretend to be me."

The woman said she would accompany him on trips to the casino where she might spend £20 to £30 but he would go through hundreds and hundreds of pounds.

A 44-year-old woman, who was twice raped by Gordon, said he had made her give up her job and accused her of sleeping with a man she merely had a chat with.

She said: "I used to get called a whore, a slag, a cow, a bitch on a regular basis. He took my phone away from me so I didn't have any numbers. I lost contact with my family because of him.

"I knew he just didn't want me to be in contact with any males."

At one stage she went to a women's refuge that helped sort out her finances but she went back to him.

It was arranged for her money to go into his bank account, but she said: "A lot of the time I didn't get the money because he is a big, big gambler. I had to rely on him for everything.

"He had this obsession. He used to question me constantly, asking me really disgusting sexual things.

"He would blow up, absolutely blow up. He would scream at me that loud that his voice used to break up."

She said Gordon, who worked for a kitchen and bathroom fitting firm, attacked her on one occasion, grabbed her head, dragged her down stairs backwards and threw her out a house.

"He grabbed me like a piece of trash. I couldn't believe what he had done, but I should have known. When his pupils went big he was going to kick off, an evil look on his face. His temper was horrendous," she said.

The woman said that the first time he raped he had ignored her pleas that it was sore. She said: "He knew I didn't want it. He knew I was in pain." She said Gordon was aware of a medical condition she had previously suffered after surgery.

On the second occasion he had bent her over a rock and carried out a sex attack. She said: "I told him it was sore, 'don't do that', but he kept going. He obviously doesn't know what no means."

The 46-year-old nurse met Gordon through the Plenty of Fish dating site and at first found him to be charming, but that changed.

He accused her of cheating, became verbally aggressive, standing over her and shouting at her while she was crying.

On one occasion Gordon pushed her so hard she fell and had to go to hospital. He had taken her phone and when she went to retrieve it he shoved her across the hallway.

She said that during the rape she told him to stop and tried to push him away, but added: "He was too powerful. He was stronger than me."

Asked if Gordon had said anything, she replied: "He just giggled."

Defence solicitor advocate Gordon Martin told the court: "He continues to deny his guilt."

He said that Gordon had been in full-time employment since leaving school at 16 and had contributed to society during that time.

Gordon has been put on the sex offenders' register.