Stuart Hogg: Criticism over domestic abuse sentence for rugby star

A former Scottish rugby captain walked free yesterday after being found guilty of domestically abusing his estranged wife.

However, despite his guilty plea, which involved him admitting to shouting, swearing and acting in an abusive manner over a five year period, he was merely given a community payback order with supervision.

The shamed star’s wife, Gillian Hogg, has criticised the sentence, and has insisted that it is not a punishment for the abuse he subjected her to.

The Court heard the disgraced rugby captain hounded her with distressing messages, tracked her whereabouts using an app and bombarded her with 200 text messages in just a few hours.

Police were called to the family home last February due to the disgraced ex-Glasgow Warriors full-back “shouting and swearing”. He was bailed but ordered not to contact Gillian or enter her property.

However, Hogg’s sentencing could have included being jailed, given unpaid work, fined, or given an electronic tag and daily curfew over his five-year campaign of abuse. But he was instead placed on a Community Payback Order which will see him supervised by social workers for his crimes.

The mother-of-four said:

“I feel like Stuart’s had absolutely no punishment. My first thought was, is that it? It’s not enough.

“No sentence will ever be enough for all of the abuse, heartache and pain he put me through for years. It feels like that hasn’t been acknowledged.

“I’m very happy with the fact that I never need to deal with him, have nothing to do with him for five years. That is a massive relief and I’m just looking forward to moving on in my own life.”

While sentencing, Sheriff Peter Paterson excused Hogg from attending a March 25 progress review to check he is complying with the supervision.

He told Jedburgh Sheriff Court:

“I am going to impose a community payback order with supervision. There will be a review of that on the 25th March.

“As far as the order is concerned I have no doubt Mr. Hogg will comply. The reason why I think a review is appropriate is that it is an unusual order. I want to be satisfied that the order is working satisfactorily.

“It may be that if I receive a satisfactory review report then we can excuse Mr. Hogg’s attendance at the hearing because there is no point in interrupting his career.”

Since the sentencing, calls have been made to strip Hogg of his MBE. He previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse between 2019 and 2024. The court heard he hounded her for “not being fun” after opting out of drinking binges with him.

Domestic abuse and making a claim

If you have unfortunately experienced domestic abuse, you may be entitled to claim compensation for your suffering. Oakwood Solicitors Ltd specialises in claims of this nature and we are here to guide and support you through the legal process.

Our team will work on your criminal injury claim on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis. If your claim is unsuccessful, you will not pay a penny.

If your claim is successful, we take 25% (plus VAT) of the compensation. This means that the only time we receive any money is upon the successful completion of a case.

You will have a dedicated, specialist criminal injury adviser who will see your claim through from start to finish, assisting you in the event of any queries, issues or concerns you may have.

If preferable to you, we are able to assign you one of our female advisers to carry out your claim. Get in touch today.

Further reading

Civil abuse claims – Oakwood Solicitors

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