Abusive Sheffield man threatened to send ‘car full of men’ to rape ex-partner and stab unborn baby after discovering she was pregnant

Ian Buchanan, aged 39, of Walesmore Avenue, Kiveton Park, Sheffield, received a message from his ex-partner saying she was pregnant and he told her he wanted her to have an abortion and he became abusive, according to a Sheffield Crown Court hearing on March 23.

Recorder David Kelly told Buchanan: “You were concerned that if it became known that you fathered a child, your relationship with your daughter with whom you have caring responsibilities for and the relationship with your daughter’s mother which had been renewed would be in jeopardy.

"And what you did was to embark on a campaign of blood-curdling threats towards your victim in the most extreme violent and insulting language.”

Richard Davidson, prosecuting, said Buchanan told the complainant he did not want to keep or have anything to do with the baby after he had just got back with another ex-partner.

Buchanan sent an abusive and insulting message and warned the complainant to stay away from his family and that he hoped she dropped dead, according to Mr Davidson, and in another message he threatened to send someone to find out the truth.

Mr Davidson added that in a further message, Buchanan said he would stab the complainant and the baby and he would kill the baby and poison her dogs.

Buchanan also threatened to send a car full of men to rape her and burn her house down and that all the threats would stop if she kept quiet about him, according to Mr Davidson.

Mr Davidson said the defendant also visited the complainant’s home and banged on her door which was damaged before he told her not to tell anyone about the baby or she would see what would happen and he claimed the baby was nothing to do with him.

The defendant was also captured on CCTV driving past the complainant’s home beeping his horn and he phoned her several times after she had gone to the police, according to Mr Davidson.

Buchanan, who has previous convictions, pleaded guilty to harassment by putting a person in fear of violence between April and July, 2020.

The complainant stated at the time: “I just want this to stop. He’s scaring me and this is making me ill. I’m not sleeping thinking he’s coming at night. I suffer with bi-polar and this is likely to send me crashing down.”

Bianca Brasoveanu, defending, said Buchanan had got back in a relationship with his daughter’s mother and he was frightened they would find out.

Ms Brasoveanu added at the time he felt under a lot of pressure and he was not coping and he had been intoxicated when he communicated with the complainant.

Recorder Kelly said Buchanan, who runs his own company, could be seen as a hard-working pillar of the community and his behaviour could be described as being out of character.

He sentenced Buchanan to 28 weeks of custody suspended for 12 months with 120 hours of unpaid work and a five-year restraining order.

Buchanan must pay £650 compensation for the complainant’s damaged door.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor