KIRKCALDY DOMESTIC ABUSER GIVEN 3 YEAR NON HARRASMENT ORDER AFTER PREGNANT WOMAN’S ORDEAL
A Kirkcaldy man who admitted serious and violent offending against his former partner has been handed a three-year non-harassment order after a domestic abuse case that the survivor says destroyed her life and contributed to the loss of her unborn baby.Gary Derek Shepherd, from Kirkcaldy, appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court after being charged with offences described in official correspondence as being of a serious or violent nature.
Court-related documents confirm Shepherd pleaded guilty on 8 August 2024, with sentence deferred until 5 September 2024.
The survivor says the abuse took place throughout her pregnancy in 2022 and escalated while Shepherd was using cocaine and alcohol.
She says Shepherd slapped her, ripped her hair out, smashed up two of her cars, damaged her home, threatened her, choked her in her bathroom, locked her inside her own house and took her phone away from her.
In one of the most distressing allegations, she says he also stole the ashes of her dead baby.
The survivor says the abuse left her with severe mental and physical health problems, and that she ultimately lost her unborn baby during the ordeal.
Official correspondence from Victim Information and Advice confirms Shepherd appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on 7 December 2022, charged with an offence of a serious or violent nature.
He was granted bail while the Procurator Fiscal considered the evidence.
A later update confirmed Shepherd was arrested and charged on 7 December 2022 for an alleged breach of bail and a communications offence, and was due to appear from custody at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Further case correspondence confirms Shepherd later pleaded guilty and was given a structured sentence.
The Sheriff also granted a non-harassment order in favour of the survivor.
That order lasts for three years and contains a single condition: Shepherd must not approach or contact the survivor.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations and the survivor’s account of the long-term harm caused, the court imposed only a three-year protective order.
The survivor said the outcome has left her feeling badly failed, particularly because the court had evidence before it and Shepherd admitted his conduct.
She said: “It’s left me with severe mental health and physical health problems.
I lost my baby through it.” The case is another stark example of the devastation caused by domestic abuse behind closed doors, where the effects can last long after the court process ends.
For the survivor, the conviction and non-harassment order may have brought the case to a legal conclusion — but she says the trauma, grief and damage caused by Shepherd’s abuse remain with her every day.
