Edinburgh court: Violent thug jailed for shocking campaign of domestic abuse of girlfriend including Edinburgh attack

Glasgow man jailed at Edinburgh court for attacks in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Pitlochry

A violent thug who forced his girlfriend to set up an Only Fans account during a shocking campaign of domestic abuse has been jailed for 14 months.

Kenneth Taggart made his partner post intimate pictures on the X-rated website to raise cash before then convincing her to put up “more graphic material” after the original images failed to make enough cash. Taggart was also said to have left the woman “screaming in pain” during several savage attacks over the course of their relationship at properties they shared in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Pitlochry.

The 35-year-old chef was eventually caught after a concerned neighbour overheard one violent attack in Edinburgh where he choked the victim and “restricted her breathing” for around 30 seconds in December 2021.

35-year-old chef Kenneth Taggart made his partner post intimate pictures of herself on the X-rated Only Fans website.

Taggart pleaded guilty to engaging in a course of conduct which was abusive of his partner when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in August and he returned to the dock for sentencing today, Wednesday, October 11.

Lawyer Eugene Boyle, defending, told the court his client had at one time worked as a chef in a Michelin star restaurant and that he had put himself into rehab following his arrest. Mr Boyle said Taggart “accepts responsibility” for his behaviour and has not taken drugs since.

He added a custodial sentence would not allow Taggart to “address the problems in his life” and asked Sheriff Douglas Keir to spare him a jail sentence. But Sheriff Keir described the attacks on the woman as “shameful and reprehensible conduct” and said “the only appropriate course is a custodial sentence”.

Taggart, from Rutherglen, Glasgow, was jailed for a total of 14 months and issued with a non-harassment order banning him from having any contact with the woman for the next five years.

Previously, prosecutor Matthew Millar told the court Taggart and the woman met online in January 2020 and they moved in to a Glasgow flat around six months later. The fiscal said the woman took time off her work to complete the move and Taggart had convinced her to set up the Only Fans account “in order to supplement her income”.

Mr Millar said: “Despite the complainer’s reluctance the accused insisted that she do so because it would improve her confidence. At that time the accused made the complainer provide him with the log in information and he would monitor the messages she received.

“After a short while it became clear she was not making a substantial income from Only Fans and the complainer was persuaded to post more new graphic content.”

The court was told of several shocking incidents where Taggart violently attacked the woman during their relationship. He was eventually arrested after a neighbour overheard the woman “screaming hysterically” during one attack at an Edinburgh flat in December 2021.

The fiscal told the court Taggart “kicked and punched her to the head” before grabbing her by the throat and applying “significant pressure for around 30 seconds”.

Mr Millar said: “He applied more pressure to the point she could not breathe. The complainer was in a state of extreme alarm and believed the accused would kill her and her life would come to an end.”

The court heard the woman described staying with Taggart as “a living hell” and that on several occasions she was forced to lock herself in a bathroom to escape his attacks.