Ayrshire rapist Graeme Hart sentenced to 9 years in prison

Graeme Hart was handed a nine-year prison sentence at the High Court in Inverness for the horrendous campaign of sexual and physical abuse and his coercive and controlling behaviour towards his victim.

The 39-year-old, previously of Gailes Wynd in Irvine, was convicted of three charges, including multiple rapes, spanning from 2016 until 2023.

He had also been accused of being in possession of cocaine and being concerned in the supplying of the class A drug between January 2017 and December 2022, at addresses in Irvine and Kilwinning, but was cleared of those allegations.

Hart was convicted of raping the woman on various occasions between 2016 and 2019, at addresses in Irvine, Kilwinning and at Craig Tara Holiday Park in Ayr.

At the same addresses and elsewhere in Scotland, over the same time period, Hart repeatedly abused and threatened her.

He was found to have repeatedly shouted, swore, acted aggressively and uttered threats of violence towards her. He made derogatory remarks towards her, and also acted in an aggressive manner towards members of her family.

Graeme Hart (Image: Contributed)

Hart monitored and controlled his victim’s movements, instructed her to remain within her home address, and dictated what time she went to bed. He also controlled what she could eat and drink.

The woman was said to have been locked inside a property and prevented from having keys to the home.

Hart also repeatedly lay on top of her and restrained her, restricting her breathing.

He controlled her finances and access to her bank account, regularly withdrawing sums of money without her permission, and communicated with her bank whilst pretending to be her, applying for bank accounts, a credit card and loans in her name without her permission.

Further offences involving the same woman were committed between 2019 and 2023 at addresses in Fife, Yorkshire, Skegness and elsewhere in England.

Hart was convicted of raping the woman, as well as grabbing and choking her neck to the danger of her life.

He also made abusive and derogatory remarks towards her and repeatedly struck a dog, cancelled a medical appointment without her permission, accessed her social media account, deleted messages and changed her password, and repeatedly threatened to commit suicide.

Hart was jailed at the High Court in Inverness. (Image: Google Street View)

He attended at her home address and repeatedly shouted and banged on windows and doors there, and repeatedly pushed and struck her on the body.

On one occasion, he threw a shoe at the woman which struck her on the head, before he seized her by the head and dragged and struck her on the head.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, which was backdated to February 27 this year, Hart was added to the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.

A non-harassment order was also imposed, preventing him from approaching or contacting the woman or attempting to do so.