A VIOLENT thug who left his former partners scarred for life amid a 14-year campaign of abuse is awaiting sentence.
Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard of Alexander Ballantyne's horrific, violent conduct and mental torment when the offender appeared in the dock last week.
The 33-year-old previously pleaded guilty to seven charges, relating to four women, spanning more than a decade - from July 2011 to March 2025.
Sheriff Nicola Patrick called for further background reports to be prepared before sentencing.
The court was told that the first woman was in an "on-off" relationship with Ballantyne from 2011 until 2020.
"During that time he would physically assault and mentally abuse her," prosecutor Martin Gallagher added.
The procurator fiscal depute stated that the relationship started positively before a first incident around the turn of 2011.
The pair had been on a night out drinking in an Irvine bar with another couple when Ballantyne left without saying where he was going.
The three remaining parties did not hear from the 33-year-old again until they returned to the pub the following morning and he appeared.
He told his partner he had been at his cousin's home but when she said that she did not believe him, he responded by punching her in the face.
The woman then left, went home and fell asleep on her couch. She awoke to Ballantyne "jumping on her" before he pulled her and punched her on the head.
He only left, despite repeated requests, when family members who had been contacted arrived at his partner's house.
The couple reconciled after Ballantyne apologised for his actions.
A further violent incident took place whilst the pair were on holiday in Turkey in 2013.
The court also heard that the woman struggled to recall specific incidents "because there were so many".
The woman said she was "terrified of him hitting her" and had recurring nightmares about him “beating her".
The relationship ended for good on Christmas Day in 2020 after the pair returned home in the early hours of that morning after a night of drinking.
They exchanged gifts at 3am but Ballantyne did not like what he had received and attacked his partner.
He pulled her off the couch, pinned her to the floor and struck her on the head, bursting it open.
The thug then went to the kitchen, after being told to leave, where he picked up a knife. He said he did not want to leave then cut his own wrists in front of the woman.
Ballantyne eventually left after she threatened to call police. The incident left his former partner with a permanent scar on her forehead.
She said Ballantyne would attack "when she was vulnerable" and that she often found it easier to "take a beating" than to try to retaliate.
Another, shorter, relationship was also detailed to the court regarding a woman Ballantyne met in 2015.
The hearing was told that during one incident, he took her phone from her, tried to snap and bend the device, and then slapped her in the face when she attempted to take the mobile back.
They stopped talking but the offender would still randomly reach out asking to get back together - on occasion stating he would kill himself in an attempt to reconcile.
Despite the brief duration, the woman said she now "feels scared of men" and has spent years trying to rebuild her life.
Another partner spent only a month together with Ballantyne having commenced a relationship in May 2021.
This ended after an assault in the early hours of June 8 that year after the pair got into an argument about her ex.
Following the disagreement, the brute punched her twice whilst they were lying in bed - before denying the attack.
Ballantyne abused another woman with whom he entered a relationship around March 2024.
On one occasion, on a night out in Glasgow, he repeatedly used his partner's card to pay for everything.
She did not raise the matter, but this became a regular occurrence - costing her around £400.
In a later incident, he also slammed a door against a wall, threw an item and pulled his partner in before headbutting her.
The thug then stopped and started crying, stating he would never hurt her, and claiming she made him angry and he didn't want to be like that.
The relationship ultimately ended over an argument on March 4 last year, after which he headbutted her and grabbed her by the throat, then repeatedly punched her in the face.
She believes she lost consciousness as the next recollection she had was being on kitchen floor covered in blood and Ballantyne running from her home.
Police were contacted and the woman was taken to hospital with bruising, swelling - including her eye being swollen shut - and two cuts to her face, one of which has left a permanent scar.
Sheriff Patrick said: “This is a persistent course of violent conduct towards a number of partners.
“There is no question in my mind that I require a full risk assessment due to the incredibly serious nature of this course of conduct.”
Defending, solicitor Gordon Ghee reserved comment until reports are available.
Ballantyne will return to court later this year and has been remanded in custody in the meantime.
Share