IAN RAMSAY AND HIS HORRIFIC CRIMES IN KELSO AND EDINBURGH

A Scottish court has publicly recognized the immense bravery of the victims who endured a prolonged and disturbing campaign of abuse, harassment, and assault by Ian Ramsay, a man hailing from Kelso, located in the Scottish Borders. The judge's comments highlighted the courage it took for these women to face Ramsay in court and to provide evidence against him, despite their understandable trauma and fear.

Lord Richardson, presiding over the case at the High Court in Edinburgh, delivered a severe sentence of 13 years' detention to Ramsay, a former soldier who served during the first Gulf War. The court heard details of Ramsay's egregious conduct spanning over six years, during which he fixated obsessively on vulnerable women, physically assaulted some of them, stalked others relentlessly, and raped four victims. These women, whose identities remain protected for legal reasons, bravely testified to the horrors they endured due to Ramsay’s actions.

Throughout the proceedings, Ramsay, aged 49, denied many of the charges against him, initially facing a total of 47 accusations. The jury was tasked with deciding on 21 specific charges, which included allegations of rape, assault, and stalking. Ramsay was ultimately acquitted on one rape charge, three assault counts, and a stalking allegation after a trial held last May. Nonetheless, the court found him guilty of the remaining charges, emphasizing the pattern of abusive and manipulative behavior.

Following the judgment, Ramsay was told he would also be subject to a three-year period of supervision and licensing after his release, reflecting the seriousness of his crimes. Lord Richardson condemned Ramsay’s conduct as a relentless campaign of abuse, reflecting on the traumatic impact experienced by the victims. He commended their bravery for coming forward and providing evidence despite the intimidation and suffering involved.

One of the victims, a 51-year-old woman who managed a hotel, gave particularly harrowing testimony about her ordeal with Ramsay, whom she knew as Ewart. The woman recounted how they met through an online dating platform, where Ramsay presented himself as a farmer and Army veteran. Their meetings took place in various restaurants and hotels in Glasgow and occasionally in the Borders.

She described Ramsay’s increasingly possessive and controlling behavior, revealing that he engaged in relentless harassment. She detailed how he stole her phone, extracted private images, and later used those images to blackmail her by threatening to share them with her employer, family, and friends. The woman explained that her life was turned upside down, with feelings of despair reaching such a peak that she contemplated suicide. Her account detailed her feelings of helplessness when Ramsay refused to accept her refusals, and her terror when he headbutted her during a confrontation at a spa hotel in Renfrewshire, leaving her injured and bleeding. Staff at the hotel had to contact police after her incident.

The court established that Ramsay raped this woman multiple times in 2014, during which he also stalked her through persistent calls and messages, threatening to disseminate her intimate images. He was also convicted of physically assaulting her in an incident involving headbutting. The prosecution presented evidence of Ramsay’s repeated assaults and violations of her privacy, actions that left her profoundly traumatized.

Further accusations revealed that Ramsay assaulted and raped at least three more women at various locations, including Jedburgh and near Kelso, while some victims were asleep or intoxicated. These assaults spanned from 2016 to 2019 and involved blackmail, threats, and controlling behavior.

Despite these convictions, Ramsay maintained that he possessed images of one victim that they had allegedly taken together, denying his use of those images to threaten or blackmail her. Nonetheless, his ongoing pattern of stalking and abuse persisted even after he was released on bail, with behaviors continuing into 2020.

The court acknowledged Ramsay's prior criminal record, which included convictions for theft and assault, and noted his remand for the current case was ordered as part of the preparation process for a detailed background report.

During the hearing, Ramsay’s defense lawyer, Ronnie Renucci QC, requested the court show leniency, citing Ramsay’s military service, past employment, and the fact that he was not considered an unintelligent man. The lawyer emphasized Ramsay’s awareness that continued offending would result in ongoing imprisonment.

However, Lord Richardson stated explicitly that incarceration was the only appropriate sentence given the severity and nature of Ramsay’s offenses. The judge imposed an extended sentence totaling 16 years, with a 13-year custodial period followed by a three-year supervised license. This sentence reflected the gravity of the offenses, including rape, assault, and stalking, particularly against vulnerable women.

The court backdated the imprisonment to July 29, 2020, the date Ramsay was remanded in custody. Post-release, Ramsay will be monitored under licence, with conditions set by the Scottish Ministers. Any breach could result in revocation of his license and further imprisonment, emphasizing the long-term public protection measures.

Additionally, Ramsay received a concurrent sentence of two and a half years for other charges, including further counts of assault, stalking, and violations committed while on bail. These sentences are to run alongside his primary extended sentence.

As a consequence of his convictions, Ramsay now falls under the notification requirements stipulated by Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which will apply for an indefinite period, ensuring ongoing monitoring of his activities to prevent further harm.

The judge’s verdict underscores the brutal pattern of abuse conducted by Ian Ramsay, highlighting the courage of his victims and the judicial system’s response aimed at safeguarding vulnerable individuals from such predatory behavior in the future.