Former Scotland rugby captain Stuart Hogg given jail warning as he is sentenced for breaching bail conditions
Last updated 5th Dec 2024
Former Scotland rugby captain Stuart Hogg has been banned from approaching or contacting, or attempting to approach or contact, his estranged wife for five years.
He's also been fined a total of £640 for breaching bail conditions, by repeatedly contacting her in June - despite a previous court order prohibiting it.
The 32-year-old, who hails from Hawick, last month pled guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse over a five-year period, dating back to 2019.
But sentence on that matter has been deferred until January 9th for a supplementary report, as the Sheriff sought to find out if he can impose a community order on the Montpellier player with supervision, which could be monitored remotely.
A social work report had recommended Hogg attend a behaviour programme for men convicted of domestic abuse offences.
But Jedburgh Sheriff Court today (Thursday) heard it couldn't be imposed while he is playing his rugby abroad - and Sheriff Peter Paterson said he wasn't prepared to defer sentence to the end of Hogg's current contract in March - adding, the court still has concerns about his conduct.
The court previously heard how Hogg's behaviour became "problematic" while playing for Glasgow Warriors, and "deteriorated further" when he moved south to Exeter.
He admitted sending dozens of messages to Gillian Hogg in a few hours following the break-up of his marriage in 2023 - despite being asked to leave her alone; and using phone apps to track his former partner's movements.
On one occasion, the court heard, messages Hogg sent - which were said to be "unpleasant in tone" - led to her having a panic attack.
Drew Long, prosecuting, said: "On the 29th of June it appears Mrs Hogg was on a night out. At 5.30am the following morning Mrs Hogg noted that she had received 28 text messages from Mr Hogg, five missed calls and a voice call or voice note lasting two minutes and 20 seconds.
"Later that day she had three further messages from him and she responded telling him to stop."
He read out some of the messages, which included "Happy divorce, I will never forgive you for that", "See you in court", and "ridiculous, who is looking after the kids?".
Mr Long told the court the messages Hogg sent later in the day were "apologetic in tone".
Selkirk Sheriff Court previously heard Hogg, who made 100 appearances for his country, would regularly go out drinking with colleagues and come home, shouting and swearing at the woman, and berating her for "not being fun".
Prosecutor Drew Long said the couple argued about where they would live and Mrs Hogg was "scared" of her husband when he became angry and would "wish it was morning so he would sober up".
Hogg, now playing in France, admitted engaging in a course of behaviour that was abusive of his partner, or ex-partner, at addresses in the Borders, England and elsewhere, between April the 1st, 2019 and August the 17th, 2024.
He initially faced further charges but his not guilty pleas to them were accepted by the prosecutor.
WATCH: Click on the link below to watch the scenes outside Jedburgh Sheriff Court...
In his defence, KC Angela Gray said her client's intention was never to be abusive, but accepts his behaviour fell short of what was expected of him as a husband.
Today she added that mental health issues Hogg struggled with no doubt impacted on his decision-making, and that he had referred himself to residential rehabilitation at Castle Craig in Peeblesshire.
But she said each incident looked at individually may not have tipped the threshold into Sheriff Court prosecution.
"He has made mistakes and he has learned from them," she added.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Paterson warned Hogg - who was supported in court by his parents - any breach of the non-harassment order could result in him being jailed.
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