Man launched vile rant at girlfriend over sex-disease claim

Cops were called after jealous partner lost the plot

A man launched a foulmouthed, 95- minute long tirade of abuse at his girlfriend after blaming her for giving him a sexually transmitted disease.

John Bertie told police the reason he had bombarded his partner with insults was because he caught something from her after she had been unfaithful.

The details emerged when Bertie, 63, appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive way towards the woman at his home in Glendee Gardens, Renfrew, on September 25.

A charge that he also broke the Communications Act by sending her an abusive message in which he made remarks about her fidelity, was dropped.

Procurator Fiscal Depute Pamela Flynn told the court the couple had been in a relationship for around a year and had been living together for two months by early October this year.

On October 4, they began arguing and the row developed over who held the lease on their flat, causing his partner to phone the council and then the police.

Officers arrived to investigate and they revealed there had been a previous incident with Bertie, which she had recorded on her phone.

The recording, which lasted for one hour and 35 minutes, was played to the officers and, in it, Bertie could be heard calling her “a c***, a whore and a f****** prostitute” while continually shouting and swearing.

His girlfriend did not want to report the matter but officers were able to identify Bertie’s voice from the recording, proving it was him.

Defence solicitor Jonathan Manson explained: “He said to police ‘Look at these marks on my face, I have them because she slept with someone else’.

“It was supposed to be a monogamous relationship but he found out she had slept with someone else.

“She caught an infection and passed it on to Mr Bertie.

“When he found out, he began shouting and swearing at her – that’s the reason he called her the names referred to.”

The lawyer told the court the couple had met in hospital while Bertie, who walks with a stick, was receiving treatment for alcohol withdrawal.

Sheriff Tom McCartney could have caged Bertie for 12 months for the offence but, instead, fined him £200, reduced from £250 as he admitted his guilt.