Serial rapist with 'propensity' for choking jailed for life

A rapist who choked women during a campaign of abuse that spanned more than three decades has been jailed for life.

Bruce Buchanan denied 13 charges against him during a trial, but was convicted of seven offences, including two of rape, one of rape and assault to severe injury and danger of life, and four of assault.

The 61-year-old began offending in June 1986 and continued until June 2017, including one incident where he raped a woman three times and squeezed her throat.

Buchanan verbally abused, punched and kicked her during attacks at addresses in Inverness, Tain, in Ross-shire and a small Highland village.

The trial judge said that a troubling aspect of the evidence was Buchanan’s propensity to choke or asphyxiate victims during the violence, one of whom feared she would die.

On one occasion, he compressed a woman’s nose and forced her to the ground.

A third victim was gripped by the throat, restricting her breathing.

Lord Fairley imposed a lifelong restriction order on Buchanan at sentencing. He will have to serve a minimum of five years before he becomes eligible for parole.

The parole board will only release Buchanan once it is satisfied he no longer poses a risk to public safety.

At earlier proceedings, the court heard how Buchanan attacked his first victim in Inverness between June 1986 and December the following year on several occasions when he shouted and swore, behaved in a threatening way, pinned her to a wall and grabbed her face.

He also raped her.

Buchanan went on to subject her to further violence on occasions up until 2004 when she was punched, threatened, repeatedly kicked on the body, shaken and gripped by the throat.

In June 2004, he punched her on the head and body, put a pillow over her face and pressed it into her, squeezed her throat, pressed his thumbs into her eyes, grabbed her by the mouth and forced his hand in and removed her clothing and raped her.

He went on to attack his second victim on various occasions between November 2008 and June the following year, when the woman was pushed and hit a fireplace, grabbed and forced to the ground, and her nose was squeezed as he threatened her.

Buchanan’s third victim was attacked between April 2016 and June 2017. She was struck on the head and body, pushed and thrown and seized by the throat.

On Monday, Lord Fairley also issued non-harassment orders that prevent Buchanan from ever contacting his victims again.

Buchanan was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.