SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Judge Bain said:

"Stephen Whitehurst, after an eight day trial at Dundee High Court, you were convicted of thirteen charges involving aggressive, threatening and abusive behaviour, and numerous incidents of sexual assault and rape. 

The evidence disclosed courses of conduct systematically pursued by you against five women, all of whom were, at the relevant times, in a relationship with you.

In total, your criminal conduct extended over a period of more than 17 years from November 2006 to April 2024.

Your record of previous convictions, although not extensive, discloses convictions for assault, including assault and assault to injury in a domestic setting, as was detailed in the evidence notified in the docket and also domestically aggravated stalking.

The behaviour you have been found guilty of on this indictment marks a significant escalation in your offending behaviour and it is of note that the Caledonian Programme you attended as part of the Community Payback Order imposed in 2015 did nothing to rehabilitate you.

I have taken account of everything that has been said on your behalf and the terms of the Criminal Justice Social Work report and note that your position remains one of denial in relation to the majority of the offending which restricts what your counsel can say about remorse, responsibility or insight into your offending.

I also take into account the Victim Impact Statements from each of your victims. These statements make clear the profound and enduring impact your behaviour has had upon them as was also apparent from the evidence they very bravely gave.

The circumstances of your offending involved several aggravating factors. The fact that it involved the abuse of your then partners is expressly libelled in many of the  charges, depending on when the offending took place and the coming into force of the relevant legislation, but it is an aggravation implicit in all of the charges and I will sentence you on that basis.

Each of your victims described a similar pattern of control and abuse which escalated and endured over a lengthy period. The sexual abuse was conducted with force which included physically overpowering your victims, restraint of arms and legs, seizing by the neck, compression of the stomach, restriction of breathing and use of sex toys. Two victims described incidents of rape beginning while they were asleep and continuing after they awoke and in the case of charges 5, 6 and 16, your behaviour caused injury. I also note that Charge 17 was aggravated by part of it being conducted in the presence of children.

The social work report highlights that even although you accept specific behaviours such as persistent messaging and monitoring of mobile phones, you have sought to minimise and justify this behaviour by directing blame towards your victims thus indicating a lack of recognition of the abusive nature of your actions.

You also blame the police for influencing your victims to make allegations and you have asserted that the justice system is biased against men, favours women and that most men in prison for domestic and sexual offences are innocent.

The report identifies that such statements are reflective of entrenched attitudes around gender and the reporter identifies that your continued denial and minimisation is suggestive of a deeply entrenched belief system rooted in entitlement, ownership, dominance and misogyny with behaviour suggestive of a deliberate attempt to punish, degrade and humiliate your victims often using sexual abuse as a means of asserting power.

It is said that the risk of you reoffending is high and, you are assessed as presenting a high risk of harm to adult females, particularly within the context of intimate relationships. The reporter is of the opinion that an extended sentence is appropriate to protect the public while also allowing you the opportunity to engage in structured programme work to address your offending behaviour. I have assessed your culpability as high and the harm you caused as clearly significant and potentially life long for all complainers.

In sentencing you today, considerations of punishment, deterrence and public protection are at the forefront of my mind. I am satisfied given the whole facts and circumstances of your case, having particular regard to the repeated nature and gravity of the criminality concerned and the period over which it was perpetrated, that there is no appropriate alternative to a custodial sentence.

Having reflected carefully on all of the circumstances, in particular the combination of serious charges, your previous convictions, the established and entrenched behaviour and the insights in the justice social work report, in my judgement the normal period of licence would not be sufficient to protect the public from serious harm from you.  Accordingly I consider that the custodial sentence in your case should be by way of an extended sentence. I will therefore impose an extended sentence, comprising a custodial element and a period of post release supervision known as an extension period.

Dealing first with the custodial part of your sentence, this will be one cumulo sentence to cover all of the offending for which you are being sentenced. The custodial part is 16 years imprisonment and will be backdated to 13 December 2023 when you were first taken into custody. The second part, the extension part will be served in the community. From the date of your release, you will be under licence for an extension period of 3 years. The conditions of your licence will be fixed by the Scottish Ministers. If during this extension period you fail to comply with the conditions of your licence it may be revoked and you may be returned to custody for a further period in respect of this case. The court also has the power to deal with you if you commit another offence after your release while you are on licence.

Had I not imposed a cumulo sentence as I have, I would have considered each of the offences in chapters relating to each separate victim and I would have imposed a cumulo sentence covering each group of charges rather than imposing a separate sentence for each charge. In respect of charge 2 the only charge involving that complainer, I would have imposed a sentence of 6 months. In respect of charges 3, 5 and 6, I would have imposed a cumulo sentence of 8 years. In respect of charges 8, 9 and 10, I would have imposed a cumulo sentence of 7 years. In respect of charges 11, 12, 15 and 16, I would have imposed a cumulo sentence of 8 years. In respect of charges 17 and 18 I would have imposed a sentence of 3 years with 1 month being attributable to the aggravation of charge 17 being partly conducted in the presence of children.

I accept that if those sentences were to run consecutively, the total period would be excessive. I have therefore reduced that to arrive at a cumulative sentence which I have imposed.

The total effect for you Mr Whitehurst, is an extended sentence of 19 years. That is comprised of a custodial sentence of 16 years and an extension period of 3 years. This will be backdated to 13 December 2023.

As a consequence of this sentence you will remain subject to the notification requirements applicable to sex offenders for an indefinite period.

In addition I will make non harassment orders in relation to each of the named complainers in the charges. The conditions of the orders, which will subsist for an indefinite period, are that you must not approach or contact any of them in person or by electronic or any other means either directly or indirectly through any other person."