SENTENCING STATEMENTS

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HMA v Kieran Broom

Aug 20, 2026

At the High Court in Inverness, Judge Pasportnikov sentenced Kieran Broom to 9 years imprisonment after the offender was convicted of two charges of rape to injury and danger of life.

On sentencing Judge Pasportnikov made the following remarks in court:

"Kiernan Andrew Broom, on 1st June 2026, after a trial at the High Court in Inverness, the jury convicted you of a charge detailing two instances of rape to injury and danger of life against a former partner.

Although the crime charged was one oral and vaginal rape committed on 14 August 2023, it included repeatedly compressing your victim’s throat and restricting her breathing, to the danger of her life.

After what started off as a period of flirtatious behaviour and play fighting, events took a sinister turn. The evidence was that you thought the playfighting was some sort of competition which you were determined to win. You held down your victim by kneeling on her arms, repeatedly restricted your victim’s breathing by putting your hands round her throat – on one occasion she thought she was going to vomit on another she described her vision as “going grey”.

You then forced your penis into her mouth to the extent of choking her despite her protests. When she had been able to get up, you proceeded to push her onto the bed and, having first threatened her with anal rape, you put your penis into her vagina and had sexual intercourse with her against her will. This was all, in what must have been obvious to you, circumstances where she did not consent.

Your loss of self-control and what could only have been a need to satisfy your own sexual urges resulted in this predatory attack. Your physical strength was greater than that of your victim. You then refused to acknowledge that you had done anything wrong, other than cheating on a new partner, and acted as though the incident had not occurred. You proceeded to “high five” your victim. Your only concern afterwards appeared to be how you would be affected if your victim told anyone.

Your victim has provided a statement. She speaks about the profound effects the crime of which you were convicted has had on her and the trauma she has experienced and continues to experience as a result. Apart from initial physical discomfort resulting from being choked and various bruising, she suffers disturbed sleep, nightmares and is constantly tense. She is in a heightened state of alert and does not feel safe. She describes suffering from anxiety and depression and struggling to form or maintain relationships. In short, your crime has had a fairly severe psychological impact on her.

She had started a new job on the day of the incident. As a result of your actions, she was unable to continue working for several months. She has had to relocate. She has been significantly adversely affected financially because of that and having to pay for medication for issues brought on by your actions.

These difficulties faced by your victim are in no way her fault. The blame lies with you. She will hopefully be able to reclaim her life and be able to move forward and heal because you will be punished for what you did to her.

The pre-sentence report is available in this case. You maintain your innocence. At trial, your position was that there had been consensual sexual activity between you and the victim. You deny any physical harm, but in the recording made by the victim, you accepted that you apologised for causing bruising. Throughout the report, there is evidence of victim blaming and seeking to distance yourself from this crime. There appears to be a suggestion that the victim has made these events up because you had “upset her” by saying “horrible things” to her and ending the marriage. That does not accord with the position elsewhere in the report or at trial that both you and the victim were seeing other people at the time of this offence. At trial, both you and the victim testified that, before this incident, you had agreed to separate and had had separate bedrooms in the house.

The writer of the report also suggests that your behaviour suggests a need to exert control, a lack of temper control and impulsivity, as well as indicators of sexual jealousy and entitlement in relation to the victim.

You appear to completely lack any understanding of the impact your actions have had on the victim and work will need to be undertaken by you in respect of that and your behaviour in intimate relationships.

I have listened very carefully to what Miss Culross has said on your behalf. You are 33 years old. You are married and awaiting the birth of your third child. You have not previously offended. I have considered the letters of reference that have been provided on your behalf.

The adverse effect these proceedings will inevitably have on your family is down to your actions alone.

In considering the level of sentence, I have had regard to the process and principles and purposes of sentencing. This is a very serious offence of which society, quite rightly, disapproves. Women should be allowed to feel safe in our society, particularly in their own home and in the company of someone with whom they had been in an intimate relationship for a number of years. In relation to this charge, therefore, only a prison sentence is appropriate.

I have also had regard to the rape sentencing guideline. I do not agree with the classifications given by Miss Culross. I consider that repeatedly choking your victim in the course of the attack to the extent that her vision was disturbed and to the danger of her life constitutes significant violence beyond that which is inherent in the offence of rape. You ought to have known that choking someone could kill them. During the attack you raped her twice, that is an aggravating feature. I accept that while there were children present in the house at the time and could have come in at any time, they did not in fact witness the offence.

I categorise your culpability at Level A. Your victim has clearly suffered severe psychological harm in relation to both the sexual offending and the other violence. I assess the level of harm as falling between Levels 2 and 3.

I accept that there may be financial hardship to your family as you are the main breadwinner. You have no previous convictions and have previously been of good character. I also consider that you show no remorse or believe you have not done anything wrong beyond infidelity.

It appears that your behaviour on this occasion may have been precipitated by the breakdown of your marriage and the need to exert power and control, as well as sexual jealousy and your sense of entitlement.

You have been assessed as posing a low risk of serious and violent reoffending and a medium risk of direct contact sexual reoffending. The writer disagrees and assesses that risk as high, particularly in relation to future intimate partners. The risk to your current wife cannot be ruled out unless and until risk reduction work has been completed. That said, the writer of the background report considers that on your eventual release, there would be stringent conditions and compliance testing to manage any risk you present.

I have read the letter you have written to me. You disagree with the conclusions of the background report relating to your level of risk and your attitude to the end of your relationship with the victim. That said, you have expressed a willingness to engage in any coursework required. I have been given a list of courses you have completed since you were remanded and that list includes personal development courses such as anger management. Miss Culross has also asked me to exercise caution of an opinion going beyond an accredited assessment tool on the basis of a one hour meeting and with the only point of reference being the offence itself without taking account of any other factors. I accept that. It would be beneficial if you were to continue to engage with offence focussed intervention and rehabilitative work both in prison and in the community following your release.

On balance, I consider that any conditions of licence which will be imposed on you following your release from prison will be sufficient to protect the public from serious harm.

In respect of the charge, I impose a sentence of 9 years’ imprisonment. 6 months of this will be for the statutory aggravation.

The sentence will be backdated to 1st June 2026, the date on which you were remanded in custody.

As a result of the sentence imposed, you will be subject to the Sex Offender Notification Requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for an indefinite period of time.

Finally, in relation to the complainer named in the charge, I will make a non-harassment order in terms of S.234A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. This order will be for an indefinite period. You must not approach or contact or attempt to approach or contact the complainer, in person, by electronic or other means, and neither directly nor indirectly through another person.