Police hope after serial abuser brought to justice

A LEADING domestic abuse taskforce police officer has welcomed the conviction of a serial abuser after he was brought to justice following three decades of offences.

Brian McTaggart, 53, was found guilty of a catalogue of sexual and physical offences committed in Dundee between 1980 and 2001, at the High Court in Glasgow.

He was convicted of raping one woman more than 900 times, raping another and forcing her head under water, and raping a third victim on four occasions while she slept.

Not proven verdicts were returned on charges of raping a fourth woman and a 30-year-old man. Sentence was deferred until November.

Responding to McTaggart’s conviction, Detective Inspector Muriel Muller, of Police Scotland’s Domestic Abuse Task Force, said she hoped the outcome of the case would encourage other victims in similar situations to come forward.

She said: “McTaggart was a prolific, serial domestic abuser.

“He abused numerous partners. However, his offences are much wider than those commonly associated with domestic abuse and include the non recent sexual and physical assault of children for which he has also been convicted.

“His catalogue of offending is horrific. It spanned many years and affected the lives of so many.

“It is only through the bravery of his many victims and witnesses in coming forward and disclosing the many offences that he has been convicted.

“We hope this outcome will encourage all victims, whether the abuse is recent or not, to come forward and report it to Police Scotland or one of our partners. Support is available, we will listen and we will investigate.”

Brian McTaggart