Man jailed for years of abuse and rape of two women in Tayside and Fife

A man has been jailed for subjecting two women to years of physical and sexual abuse.

Stephen Best, 39, committed the crimes in Fife and Tayside.

He was brought to justice following a major investigation by police in Fife Division’s Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit after one of his victims came forward.

At Glasgow High Court, he was jailed for six years and placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

The women were praised for their bravery, which resulted in Best being convicted of two offences of indecent assault and rape on December 17.

Police also said they hoped it would give courage to other victims to report domestic abuse.

The investigation was launched in 2017 when one of the women reported abuse dating back to 2003, leading to Best’s arrest in April 2018.

Detective Sergeant Michael Reilly, of the investigation unit, said: “Stephen Best 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.

“We welcome the sentencing and 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.”