Fife Police praise women who came forward to convict sex abuser

Stephen Best was jailed for six years at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday.

The 39-year old was the subject of a major investigation by Fife’s Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit in 2017 after one woman reported offences dating back to 2003.

They happened in Fife and Tayside.

Best was subsequently arrested and charged in April 2018 and was convicted following a trial on two offences of sexual abuse, which included two counts of rape.

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Detective Sergeant Michael Reilly from thes Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit said: “He subjected the women to sustained periods of physical and sexual abuse and continued this over a number of years.

“The bravery shown by these women in coming forward to report these crimes has to be commended and this has been instrumental in securing his conviction.”

Welcoming the sentence, he added: “His placement on the Sex Offenders register indefinitely means that he will be the subject of monitoring and supervision to restrict his ability to cause harm to anyone else.

“Domestic crime, in all its forms, remains one of Police Scotland’s top priorities.

“Hopefully the bravery shown by these women will give other individuals suffering from domestic abuse the strength to come forward and report crimes of this nature.

“Any disclosures made to us will be investigated thoroughly with the utmost professionalism and sensitivity to bring perpetrators to justice.”