John Graham jailed for 30 years of domestic abuse
A man who subjected a woman to 30 years of domestic abuse has been jailed for five years.
The victim, who is now 56, told police about her ordeal after 55-year-old John Graham made a complaint to police about her over another matter in 2011.
She later told how he regularly beat her, assaulted her children and prevented her from having friends.
Jailing Graham, temporary judge Bill Dunlop told him his years of abuse had left his victim a "broken woman".
'Domination and control'
"You may not be a broken man, but the lady who told the main story in this case is a broken woman," the judge said.
"She was broken by 30 years of cruelty, domination and control at your hands."
An earlier hearing at The High Court in Glasgow was told that the woman and her two young daughters often stayed with Graham at his home in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire
The jury was told how he regularly "hit, punched and kicked" the woman after returning home from the pub in a foul mood.
The victim's youngest girl recalled hearing her mother crying, along with yells of "John, stop it".
In her closing speech to the jury, prosecutor Sheena Fraser said: "Her mum was also heard being slapped in time to the music."
The eldest daughter told how she remembered seeing her mother covered in bruises.
The court was also told of Graham's "controlling attitude".
Ms Fraser said: "She was never allowed a friend - never allowed out on her own."
The jury heard that the woman never went to the police as she was scared and "did not want people to know that she was living like that".
The truth came out in 2011 when Graham - despite knowing what he had done - went to the police claiming the woman was harassing him.
Sickened by the allegation, the woman eventually decided to reveal how she had suffered throughout the years.
Her testimony led to Graham - who denied the charges - being convicted of the abuse campaign between 1974 and 2004.
He had also been accused of raping the woman, but the jury returned a not proven verdict.
Graham was also found guilty of assaulting the woman's two daughters by leaving them in tears after squeezing their legs and leaving his nail-marks.
Following the verdict, temporary judge Dunlop described the case as "a wholly horrific tale of abuse".