Man extridated from the Netherlands found guilty of abusing three women

A domestic abuser who was hauled back from the Netherlands to face justice is facing a lengthy jail term.

Stephen Smith was convicted of nine charges involving three women following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

The 25-year-old, who latterly ran both a garage and a coffee shop in Spain, had denied the accusations.

The crimes occurred between 2017 and 2024, mainly at different addresses in South Lanarkshire.

Jurors heard how Smith was said to have gone into a rage with the first victim after spotting a text on her phone from another male.

In his evidence, Smith refuted that he had been violent, but stated: “I do not think anyone would want to see a message from another boy to your girlfriend. I just asked her to leave.”

The second woman also suffered at his hands.

This victim stated: “I was getting battered every single day.”

Smith was said to have warned that if she did not stop crying, “he would give her something to cry about”.

The trial heard testimony about how he got angry after she had not bought him a birthday present.

This victim recalled another incident where he choked her “to the point she went purple”.

Smith, formerly of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, also made threats towards members of her family.

He went on to be violent with the final victim, who felt at one stage that she was going to die.

Among the charges Smith was guilty of were aggravated assault as well as engaging in abusive behaviour.

After the verdicts, prosecutor Anna Chisholm told how Smith had failed to appear for an earlier court hearing and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

He was later traced in the Netherlands and extradited back to Scotland in late 2025.

Lord Arthurson continued his remand in custody as sentencing was deferred until July 10 in Edinburgh.