The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pregnant ex curled into ball to protect her baby from abusive ‘animal’
A Fife man responsible for a “litany” of assaults on four ex-partners spanning nearly three decades could face up to five years in jail.
Gary Hogg battered his first victim throughout her two pregnancies during a period of abuse lasting 10 years.
On one occasion he kicked the woman in her private parts as she transported their oneweek-old child in a carrycot, causing her to drop the cot, which then slid down some stairs.
Years later Hogg punched, kicked and spat on another partner for supporting the other football team in a match they were watching.
During another incident he pushed her on to a bed and seized and squeezed her throat.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard that spending too much money on shopping and smoking the last cigarette were among his “reasons” for inflicting violence on some of the women.
A sheriff said he could be jailed for five years and face further restrictions upon his release.
Sheriff Alastair Brown told Hogg he had admitted what could be described as a “litany of abuse”.
Procurator fiscal depute Claire Bremner said when Hogg’s most recent victim contacted police, the domestic abuse taskforce got in touch with his previous partners.
The violence against his first victim, with whom he has two children, took place between January 1991 and December 2000.
The fiscal depute said: “He assaulted the complainer throughout both pregnancies and she described the relationship as brutal... and she lived in complete fear of him.
“She would wear longsleeve tops and trousers to hide her injuries.”
Ms Bremner said that during the woman’s pregnancy in 1993, she described “curling up in a ball” to protect her unborn baby as Hogg punched her to the stomach and back.
The court heard Hogg, 46, of Kirkland Gardens, Methil, hospitalised the woman on another occasion after he kicked her shin and caused it to swell following an argument about a broken washing machine.
She told medics she had slipped on water and when the curtain was pulled around the pair, Hogg punched her in the body and told her not to tell the truth about her injuries.
The court heard that on another occasion she contacted police after being assaulted and when Hogg returned home later, he seized her by the throat in front of a child.
Court papers state all four of his former partners were subjected to assaults on various occasions and three of them were seized by the throat.
In August 2010, Hogg assaulted another woman by grabbing her throat, pushing her against a bedroom door and repeatedly punching her in the ribs.
The following year he followed this woman through the house and spat on her because she did not want to eat the breakfast he had made as it was too salty.
In October 2018 he tried to make a joke when they were in the car together outside a Poundstretcher in Leven and then punched her in the face.
The victim in this case suffered abuse between October 2009 and August 2019.
Hogg’s two other victims each suffered abuse for about a year in the 2000s.
One described him as an “animal” who would foam at the mouth whenever he got angry.
Hogg’s lawyer, Kerr Sneddon, said his client was ashamed of himself but hoped to be bailed to go on holiday with his children as it may be the last time he sees them for a while.
Sheriff Hogg said: “Four charges of habitual assaults on four separate ladies – one of the concerning features of that is one theme of seizing them by the throat.
“It cannot be said often enough that seizing a woman by the throat is a very serious form of assault.
“This is a most serious offence but I will consider sentence in due course. One distinct possibility is the imposition of an extended sentence, (with) custody between four and five years.”
An extended sentence combines a period in prison with a further set time of supervision and is used to protect the public.
Sentencing was adjourned until August 16 for background reports.
The sheriff said bail was no longer appropriate and Hogg was remanded in custody.