Man found guilty of a catalogue of violence and sexual assault

Graham Young, 50, punched one woman in the stomach when she was pregnant.

He did the same to another woman he believed to be pregnant and another victim had a knife held to her neck during a vicious attack.

The offences against six women took place at various addresses in Dunfermline, Kelty, East Wemyss and other locations in Fife between 1991 and this year.

Detective Inspector James Leeson, of Fife Division's Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “Graham Young inflicted horrendous suffering on his victims over many years.

“I want to commend their courage in coming forward with information which has been crucial to our investigation and that finally led to Young’s arrest and today's conviction.

“I hope the verdict will give them some measure of comfort and allow them to go forward with their lives."

Young, 50, now of Church Street, Kirkcaldy, was found guilty of seven charges after a trial lasting eight days at the High Court in Dunfermline.

On various occasions between October 1, 1991 and July 31, 2002, in Dunfermline, Halbeath and East Wemyss, he assaulted a woman by punching and striking her on the head and body, grabbing her hair, seizing her by the neck and compressing it, restricting her breathing and causing her to lose consciousness.

He cut her hair, struck her with a bicycle, threw a bottle at her, threatened her with violence, held a knife against her face and body, cut the clothing she was wearing with a knife, pinned her down, kicked her on the head and body, demanded money, seized money from her and on one occasion when she was pregnant, he punched her on the stomach and smashed her mobile phone to prevent her seeking medical attention, all to her injury and to the danger of her life.

On an occasion between July 1, 2002 and December 31, 2003, in Dunfermline, he shouted, swore, made threats to a woman, placing her and another woman in a state of fear and alarm.

On an occasion between February 2 and December 31, 2004, at Skye Road, Dunfermline, he assaulted a woman by shouting, swearing and attempting to punch her.

On various occasions between January 1 and September 3, 2008, at a location near to Dunfermline bus station, The Commercial Inn in Douglas Street, and elsewhere, he assaulted another woman by throwing a drink over her, seized her by the hair, caused her to strike her head and face on the floor, smashed her mobile phone and held a knife against her neck, all to her injury.

On various occasions between June 1 and July 31, 2015 at Broomhead Drive and Foundry Street, Dunfermline, he assaulted another woman, seized her by the wrists, pulled her, shouted at her, pushed her against a wall and, whilst he believed her to be pregnant, pushed her into a radiator, causing her to strike her head and body, pinned her down, pushed his knee into her stomach and punched her stomach.

On various occasions between June 8, 2016 and January 25, at an address in Dunfermline he made indecent remarks to another woman and on one occasion sexually assaulted her by handling her breasts over her clothing.

On January 25 in Dunfermline, he sexually assaulted the same woman.

After the jury delivered the verdict, the court was told that Young had served previous jail terms for domestic assaults.

The judge, Lord Woolman, placed Young on the sex offenders’ register.

Sentence was deferred for reports and will take place at the High Court in Edinburgh on January 24. Young was remanded in custody.

Det Insp Leeson added: “Police Scotland is wholly committed to tackling all cases of domestic abuse that are reported and other associated violent offences.

"We will continue to work alongside our partners at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in order to bring relevant offenders to justice.

"Tackling domestic abuse is a priority for Police Scotland, we want to encourage people to come forward.

“Victims of crime can be confident that we will listen to them and investigate their report thoroughly, no matter how much time has passed."