SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Lady Hood said:

"Brian Thom, you were convicted after trial of 17 charges involving sexual and physical abuse of two women.  The offences of which you were convicted spanned a range of dates.  They involved multiple rapes, and assaults, and abusive behaviour - and represent a sustained course of conduct comprising both violent and sexual offending, perpetrated against two separate complainers.  The complainers gave evidence about how you isolated them from family and friends, and exerted control over them, and of the physical and sexual assaults directed towards them.  I have read a Victim Impact Statement submitted by one of the complainers, where she speaks powerfully of the long-standing impact that your behaviour has had on her.  However, you have shown little empathy or remorse.

You are aged 37, and have 9 groups of previous convictions, some of which have resulted in relatively brief custodial sentences.  Your previous convictions include analogous convictions, namely assault to injury and breaches of section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.  I note that a number of the convictions were aggravated by involving the abuse of a partner or ex-partner, and that you have previously been in breach of a non-harassment order which had been imposed in respect of one of the complainers in this case.

A detailed Criminal Justice Social Work Report (CJSWR) was prepared, and the author of that report assessed you as having a high level of criminogenic need and risk, and posing a high risk of serious harm related to intimate partner violence.  In the view of the author of the Report, your violence had reached a level where it may be described as severe, and your persistence in abuse as chronic.  They considered it very likely that you might require monitoring and risk management for an extensive period to try and ensure public protection, on any return to the community.  Because of the nature of your offending, their concerns as to the future manageability of your risk, and the likelihood of your perpetrating serious harm of a similar nature in future if you did not engage in an intensive treatment programme, the author of the CJSWR recommended that the Court consider imposing either an Extended Sentence or an Order for Lifelong Restriction.

On 8 October 2024, I made a Risk Assessment Order under section 210B of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, and adjourned the case to allow for the preparation of the Risk Assessment Report.  That Report is now available, and I have carefully considered its terms.  The Risk Assessor identified those predominantly at risk from your behaviour as women with whom you are in an intimate relationship.  The drivers of your behaviour appear to be your insecurities when you are disinhibited by alcohol or drugs.  The Risk Assessor did not find evidence of any major personality disorder.  You have maintained relationships with intimate partners which have not resulted in criminal charges or convictions, although your temper and aggression, and insecurity, did represent concerning aspects of those relationships.  The Risk Assessor considered that you had responded positively to the Caledonian Project, during a previous period of supervision, and that there was no evidence of offending after this (although I do note that there have been periods of imprisonment and, of course, remand in that period).  In the view of the Risk Assessor, your response to a longer-term sentence remains unknown, and there is no evidence of significantly anti-authoritarian attitudes on your part.  In all of these circumstances, the Risk Assessor’s conclusion was that you do not reach the threshold for high risk, but are medium risk.

Your background circumstances are set out in the Criminal Justice Social Work Report, as well as in the Risk Assessment Report itself, and I take these into account.  I have listened with great care to the submissions in mitigation advanced this morning on your behalf by your counsel, Mr Moir, KC, and have also taken these into account.

The offences of which you were found guilty are so serious that there is no alternative to imposing a significant period of imprisonment in order to punish you, to deter others from such behaviour, and to protect the public.  The question which I have to consider is whether, on a balance of probabilities, the risk criteria set out in the legislation are met, and hence whether I am obliged to make an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR).  Is it more likely than not that, were I to impose a sentence other than an OLR, you would seriously endanger the public once at liberty?  In determining this, I must assess not only the existing risk posed, but whether any custodial or post-release regime (short of an OLR) will have any material impact on that risk.  With an offender who has, as you have, been assessed as ‘medium risk’, I essentially have to take a view on whether there are realistic prospects that your propensity seriously to endanger the public is amenable to significant change or effective management.  Having carefully considered the terms of the Risk Assessment Report and all of the circumstances, I do not consider that the risk criteria are met in your case, and I therefore will not impose an OLR. 

However, I do not consider that the normal period of licence would be sufficient to protect the public from serious harm from you, and I therefore do consider it appropriate to impose an Extended Sentence.  Had I been imposing a separate sentence in respect of the groups of charges of which you were found guilty, then in respect of the sexual offending, which are Charges 1, 2, 5 - 7, and 11 – 19, I would have imposed a custodial sentence of 14 years, of which 9 months would have been referable to the domestic aggravation of Charges 11 - 19.  In respect of the violent or non-sexual offending, which are Charges 3, 4 and 8, I would have imposed a custodial sentence of 4 years.  In these circumstances, a proportionate cumulative sentence is a custodial term of 12 years.  I consider an extension period of 7 years to be appropriate.  During that period, you will have to comply with licence conditions, and if you do not, your licence may be revoked and you may be returned to custody.  I therefore impose an extended sentence (on a cumulo basis in respect of all charges) composed of a custodial term of 12 years, and an extension period of 7 years.  The custodial term will be backdated to a notional date of 23 May 2023, to take account of periods of imprisonment served by you during the period when you were on remand.

As a result of the sentence I have imposed today, you now become subject to the notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for an indefinite period.  You will be given details of the notification requirements with which you must comply.

The Crown seek that Non-harassment orders be granted in respect of each of the complainers, and no submissions have been made in opposition to that.  In the light of the information provided through the medium of the trial, by the Crown when first moving for the orders, and contained in the Victim Impact Statement, I am persuaded that this is appropriate.  I will therefore grant non-harassment orders for an indeterminate period prohibiting you from contacting or communicating with (or attempting to contact or communicate with) each of the complainers."