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A Perthshire mum has spoken of her five-year nightmare at the hands of rapist and abuser Jack Bruce, warning he remains a danger to women if freed.
The 30-year-old was jailed for 11 years last week after being convicted of four rapes, one attempted rape, one sexual assault and four domestic abuse offences against three women over an eight-year period between 2015 and 2023.
One survivor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said:
“He made me think I was crazy and that all this abuse was in my head and nobody would believe me.”
The 32-year-old met Bruce on a works night out in 2016. He was convicted of two rapes against her and multiple abusive and controlling offences, including isolating her from family and friends.
“He is manipulative. He makes you think he is a nice person but he isn’t,” she said. “I hope that he gets the help in prison that he needs to make important changes in his life. So no other women get affected by this.
“I don’t think he will take the help because in his eyes he has done no wrong. He should not be set free until it is safe to do.”
She recalled the relationship starting well before turning violent.
“At first everything was hunky dory. We were out all the time and there were no red flags. Then one time he choked me and I told him I did not like that and that is when the issues started.
“From there I became 100 percent trapped in the relationship. One time he locked me in the house and barricaded the door and would not let me leave when I was pregnant. By this time he had alienated all my friends and family. I was a very outgoing young girl who was living life who became a shell of a woman.”
The tipping point came when her young daughter stood in front of her during one of Bruce’s rages and said:
“Stop.”
Passing sentence, Lady Ross told Bruce:
“This was a sustained campaign of brutal and degrading sexual abuse. You have caused your victims to suffer from continuing and lasting psychological harm.
“You continue to deny wrongdoing. You blame your victims – you believe your victims have somehow conspired against you. You do this to deflect attention from your situation.”
The judge ordered two years’ supervision on release and placed Bruce on the sex offenders register for life, adding: “It will be very important for you to engage with the work that will be needed to help you address your behaviour and the problems that you obviously have in your attitude towards women.”