Campbell Petrie

Introduction

Campbell Petrie is a Scottish man who was convicted by a jury of serious and repeated physical and sexual abuse of two former partners — a campaign spanning almost fifteen years in which first one intimate partner, then the other, was subjected to a catalogue of episodes of abuse including a number of rapes and other sexual and physical assaults . Sentencing him on 16 October 2026, Judge Watson told him the gravity of his sustained course of criminal conduct “cannot be overstated” and imposed an extended sentence of fifteen years in total: twelve years in custody followed by a three-year extension period to be served under supervision in the community . Because of the conviction, Petrie will be registered under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 indefinitely, and the court made indefinite non-harassment orders in favour of both of his victims .

Background Information

The charges Petrie faced covered two separate intimate relationships, run consecutively across nearly a decade and a half, and the jury’s verdict found the abuse included multiple rapes as well as physical assaults . In his interview with the writer of the criminal justice social work report, Petrie maintained his denial of guilt in the face of the evidence and the jury’s verdict, claiming he could not recall acting in the manner set out in the charges and was never aware that his victims felt he had assaulted them . Judge Watson noted that the individual rape charges, sentenced separately under Scotland’s recently published sentencing guidelines, would have attracted individual sentences he considered before electing instead to impose a single sentence dealing with the whole of the criminal conduct . The sentence had to meet the requirements of punishment and deterrence as well as public protection, the court said .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted at trial of the rape and abuse of two partners; extended sentence.

The jury heard evidence from two women — one the partner from the earlier relationship, one from the later one — describing a pattern of physical and sexual violence that persisted across both relationships for close to fifteen years . Petrie’s answer to that evidence was outright denial: he told the social work report’s author that he could not recall the conduct the charges described and was never aware his partners felt assaulted, a position the sentencing judge placed squarely before him when explaining the sentence . Judge Watson told him that in those circumstances the sentence must reflect not only the seriousness of each episode but its persistence — the fact that the offending was a sustained course of conduct across two victims rather than a single incident . The court concluded that an extended sentence was necessary “having regard to the risk you pose of significant harm to the public, and in particular to females” .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The sentence’s structure drew its public significance from the judge’s explicit finding about risk to women: the three-year extension period, Judge Watson explained, “is part of the prison sentence”, during which Petrie will be subject to careful supervision and monitoring of his conduct, and any failure to comply with the conditions set for him can return him to custody for the remainder of the term . Both complainers received indefinite non-harassment orders with two conditions each: Petrie must not communicate or attempt to communicate with them directly or indirectly by any means, and must not approach within 100 metres of either woman, or within 100 metres of any premises where he knows or has reason to believe either may be present . A breach of either order could result in further imprisonment, the court warned . The indefinite registration requirement means his conviction will follow him for the rest of his life under the Sex Offences Register regime .

Current Status

Petrie is serving the custodial term of his extended sentence, imposed on 16 October 2026 following his trial . On release he will enter the three-year extension period under supervision and monitoring, and he remains subject to indefinite notification requirements and the two indefinite non-harassment orders . No appeal against the conviction or sentence was reported in the published sentencing remarks .

Impact on Their Career/Life

A jury conviction for a fifteen-year course of rape and abuse against two partners, with the sentencing judge publicly finding a risk of significant harm “in particular to females”, places Petrie in the category of offenders whose liberty after prison remains conditional on supervised compliance rather than freedom . His continued denial — the claim that he could not recall the conduct and was never aware his victims felt assaulted — was documented in the court record as part of the sentencing exercise, denying him the mitigation that acknowledgement of guilt can bring . The 100-metre exclusion zones and lifetime register obligations mean that even long after his release, the geography and contacts of his daily life will remain legally circumscribed, and any breach can send him back to prison for the unexpired part of the sentence .

Sources

• “HMA v Campbell Petrie, sentencing remarks of Judge Watson” — Judiciary of Scotland, 16 October 2026: source