Serial abuser who attacked and raped women over 17 years jailed

A serial abuser who brutally attacked and raped women has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years.

Phillip Wight’s catalogue of offending spanned 17 years.

The 33-year-old assaulted five women and subjected two of them to rapes.

The offences mostly took place at addresses in Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy, Fife, between 2002 and 2019.

One woman was dragged by the hair, grabbed by the neck, struck on the head and body, and pushed against a wall.

Another was punched on the face on Christmas Day.

Unemployed Wight had denied a string of charges but was found guilty on Monday of six assaults and four rapes following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Lord Beckett told him: “It is clear you have caused very considerable suffering to your victims which has had serious and enduring consequences for them.”

The judge ordered that Wight be supervised for a further six-and-a-half years and warned that if he failed to comply with the conditions of his licence during that period he could be returned to prison.

One woman told the court: “He used to become angry and violent. He was just an angry man.

“On one occasion he took my face and pulled it down a gravel wall. He would just degrade me and call me names.”

Defence counsel Jonathan Crowe said Wight accepted he has had serious problems with alcohol and drugs.

He added: “He advises that he is ashamed of the way he has acted at times.”

As well as being jailed, Wight was also placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.

Following sentencing, Fraser Gibson, Procurator Fiscal for high court sexual offences, said: “Phillip Wight inflicted brutal and terrifying attacks on five women over the course of nearly two decades.

“While some of these crimes occurred many years ago, diligent work by police and our expert prosecutors made it possible for him to be brought to justice today.

“His victims showed great bravery during the prosecution process and I hope the sentence imposed today provides some resolution for them.”