Former Scottish rugby union captain Stuart Hogg has avoided jail after abusing his estranged wife for five years.
Hogg – who plays for French club Montpellier and was made an MBE for services to sport in last year’s New Year honors – had previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic violence against his ex-partner, Gillian Hogg, during his appearance in Selkirk. Sheriff Court on November 4.
The 32-year-old former Glasgow Warriors and Exeter Chiefs player admitted shouting and swearing, tracking her movements and sending her messages of an alarming and distressing nature.
The court previously heard how the defendant reprimanded Ms Hogg for “not being fun” after she continued drinking with her colleagues and sent her more than 200 text messages in the space of a few hours.
Sheriff Peter Paterson sentenced Hogg, who now lives abroad, to a community payback order with a year’s supervision and a second five-year non-harassment order, when he appeared at Sheriff Court in Selkirk for sentencing Thursday. He told Hogg the sentence was an “alternative to detention”.
Hogg, dressed in a dark jacket and tie, made no comment as he left the court accompanied by his parents. Police escorted him to a vehicle that stopped to pick him up as he passed waiting media.
Hogg was previously banned from approaching or contacting Ms Hogg for five years after he admitted breaching his bail conditions by contacting her several times in June, when one night she received 28 text messages from his part.
Sheriff Paterson gave him the first five-year non-harassment order when he convicted him of breaching bail conditions at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on December 5, and also fined him 600 £, with an additional victim surcharge of £40.
Hogg was also due to be sentenced for domestic violence last month, but Sheriff Paterson postponed sentencing until Thursday to clarify whether a community order with remote monitoring could be imposed now that Hogg is living in France, where he will remain at least until March.
He was due to stand trial at the same court in November, but pleaded guilty that day to a charge of domestic violence between 2019 and 2024 in places including Hawick, on the Scottish borders.
Prosecutor Drew Long told the court that day the couple, who were divorcing, had moved to Exeter in 2019 with their three young children, all aged under three, but Hogg’s “behavior became deteriorated” as he went out to party. .
Mr Long said Hogg would “yell, swear and accuse Ms Hogg of not being fun” for not drinking, and that her family “noticed a change in her”.
In 2022, Ms Hogg went out in the evening and was bombarded with text messages from her husband, which “caught the attention of people she was with”, the court heard.
The following year the couple moved to Hawick in the Borders, but Hogg used an app to track his wife and “asked her where she was” while she was dropping the children off, Mr Long told the court .
In 2023, Ms Hogg decides to quit rugby and seeks advice from a domestic violence service.
The court heard that in September 2023, Hogg sent so many messages that it led Ms Hogg to have a panic attack, and that he “sent more than 200 text messages in a matter of hours despite being asked to leave her alone.”
On February 21 last year, police were called due to Hogg’s “screaming and swearing” and he was taken into custody. He was later placed on bail stipulating that he was not to contact Ms Hogg or enter the family home.
Hogg retired from professional rugby in July 2023, but last summer it was announced he would return to the sport after signing for Montpellier on a two-year contract.
Lynne Barrie, Procurator Fiscal for Lothian and Borders, said: “Stuart Hogg has now been found guilty and held accountable for subjecting his estranged wife to years of domestic violence.
“The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service recognize the devastating impact of domestic violence and are committed to vigorously prosecuting offenses, regardless of who commits the offense.
“No one should have to live in fear of a partner or ex-partner. The trauma suffered by the victims – and the children who witness these crimes – is significant.
“I would urge anyone affected by a similar offense to come forward and report it. We will use every tool at our disposal to achieve justice, and you will be listened to and supported throughout the process.
Detective Sergeant Jade Wardell of Police Scotland said: “Domestic violence, in any form, is completely unacceptable.
“Without the victim coming forward and reporting these incidents to us, we would not have been able to ensure that Hogg would face the consequences. »
She said anyone contacting Police Scotland to report abuse would be “fully supported”.