Praise for abuse victims as attack thug is jailed

THE courage shown by two domestic abuse survivors in helping convict a brutal Greenock thug who inflicted a life-threatening attack during years of callous cruelty has been praised by a sheriff.

Joseph Gallacher - who has branded his victims liars and still maintains his innocence - is finally behind bars today after carrying out campaigns of abuse spanning three decades.

The two women - both ex-partners of the 45-year-old brute - bravely gave evidence against him to a jury and told of regular beatings that he meted out to them.

Gallacher, who was described as an alcoholic ‘narcissist’ during the trial, punched one victim unconscious and also seized her neck and choked her.

Imposing a 32-month custodial sentence for ten indictment offences, Sheriff James Varney told Gallacher: “There is no doubt that your attacks have caused significant physical and mental impacts to both complainers.

“I commend the strength shown by them in giving evidence during the trial.”

A previous domestically aggravated offence committed by Gallacher, for which he received 200 hours of unpaid work, was revealed at the sentencing hearing.

Sheriff Varney told him: “It is clear that you have not learned anything from that order.”

The court heard that Gallacher

‘still maintains his innocence’ having claimed his ex-partners were lying and denied any knowledge of the repeated assaults when he took to the witness stand last month.

The jury of eight women and seven men took two hours to reach unanimous guilty verdicts on all but one of the ten charges, with the other charge found guilty by a majority.

Gallacher left the women with multiple injuries after a catalogue of booze-fuelled attacks at his Clydeview Road home and elsewhere in the town between 2006 and 2007, and between 2013 and 2021.

The court heard how he ‘bounced’ one of the women off walls, headbutted her and threatened her with a knife.

During an assault in 2014, one of his victims screamed out: “You are going to kill me.”

One of the women - who had to make excuses to her boss due to her injuries - finally left Gallacher when she felt that her life was ‘in jeopardy’.

The victim, who began a ‘purely sexual’ 11-month relationship with him when she was in her early 20s, provided her testimony to the court from behind a screen.

She told how she was forced to take time off work because of visible injuries caused by him - including significant bruising on her arms, neck and face.

The other victim’s mum also testified to an occasion when she noticed injuries to the woman, who was with Gallacher for nearly a decade.

She told the court: “It wasn’t my daughter that looked at me.

“I didn’t recognise her.

“It was horrible. I can’t get that image out of my head.”

Defence advocate Graham Robertson said that Gallacher ‘denies his culpability for the criminal acts’ but he ‘accepts and understands’ the verdicts.

He added: “I don’t think I can say anything that can meaningfully mitigate the jury’s decision in any profound way.”

Sheriff Varney said: “This type of behaviour cannot be condoned.

“Your attitude towards domestic partners has not changed.

“There is no alternative to custody in this case.”

A seven-year non-harassment order was also imposed in respect of both complainers.