Violent domestic abuser Matthew Steel jailed for three years

Serial offender Matthew Steel's catalogue of torment and harassment included threatening to glue one victim's private parts closed 'so no-one else could go near her'.

The 33-year-old hit another woman on the stomach while she was pregnant and pushed her down a flight of stairs.

Steel headbutted a third woman and left her permanently disfigured.

The violent brute pleaded guilty to seven charges of assault, threatening behaviour, and domestic abuse against a total of five females between 2009 and 2023.

Steel, who has previous convictions, is now behind bars after a sheriff sentenced him to three years imprisonment for his cruel and callous crimes.

His violent and coercive conduct began when he was still a teenager and continued throughout a long-term relationship with one of his victims between 2009 until 2017.

He admitted to assaulting his then partner on various occasions in Inverclyde and North Ayrshire - at addresses in Dalry and Stevenston - as well as at two hotels in Glasgow.

Greenock Sheriff Court heard that in one incident in 2010, Steel pinned the woman against a wall and headbutted her after taking umbrage at the length of time she spent speaking to a woman in the street.

The morning after, Steel did not acknowledge the attack - despite the woman having a 'large bump on her forehead', the court was told.

The matter was not reported to police because she was 'fearful' of the potential consequences.

Steel throttled the woman after she spilled red wine on a carpet, resulting in her being 'unable to breathe and thinking she was going to die'.

He also smashed her head against a mirror several times, while on other occasions he forced her to take multiple pregnancy tests in front of him.

Steel once drove towards her at speed in his car, forcing her to jump out of the way to avoid being struck by the vehicle.

Following an argument, Steel 'pushed his partner with both hands' causing her to fall down a flight of stairs, before he 'just walked past her as if nothing happened'.

In another incident, after he suspected the woman of having an affair, he sat on top of her on a bed and urinated through his clothes on her.

Steel cut the woman off from her friends and family and his controlling behaviour carried on with his next partner, with further offences committed in Port Glasgow, Paisley and Houston.

On one occasion he placed the woman in a state of fear by suggesting that he had a firearm in his car and threatening to shoot her.

At one point, the woman went three months without speaking to her parents due to Steel's coercion, while he consistently harassed her with phone calls and abusive messages, followed her in his car and threatened her at her place of work.

A different woman, who was in a brief relationship with him between 2021 and 2022, was also attacked, with one incident involving Steel lifting her from the ground by her throat and pinning her against a wall.

Subscribe to the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald HERE 

A procurator fiscal depute described another incident when Steel 'overpowered' the 'terrified' woman at a flat, before dragging and forcefully pushing her into the property.

He refused to allow her to leave and told her to 'take her trousers off, go to bed and be quiet'. He pretending to police that she was asleep after a neighbour had reported the disturbance.

Steel, from Inverclyde, breached bail conditions in July 2022 by contacting her just a month after he was ordered to stay away from her.

He was seen driving by her, smirking and shouting 'What have you got to prove, I'm here now'.

At the end of last year, another woman was abused by Steel with further violent episodes taking place.

The fiscal depute said: "From very early on in the relationship she noticed he was beginning to exert significant control over her.

"On one occasion he was not happy with a Hallowe'en outfit she wore and forced her to change.

"On another occasion he grabbed her throat with both hands while on a bed then headbutted her with full force to the nose.

"Blood immediately began to come from the nose, she had a cut to her nose and her eyes started to bruise."

The court was told that the woman's nose is still 'squint' from that attack.

Steel also claimed that he could 'get rid of anyone he wanted' as part of threats to harm the woman and her relatives.

He attempted to prevent another short-term partner from socialising, called her offensive names and made threatening remarks towards her.

On one occasion at a pub he swore and shouted: "You think you're a victim? I am a millionaire, darling."

Steel, who appeared from custody having been remanded in prison prior to sentencing, was jailed for a total of 36 months, with a 12-month supervised release order also imposed.