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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Bart Dickson

'Nasty and manipulative' Glasgow Instagram adventurer 'not the person he portrays'

A former soldier whose climbing adventures are followed by thousands of fans on Instagram has been banned from contacting his ex-girlfriend for two years.

Martin McGinley, 37, bombarded the woman with hundreds of phone calls and text messages during their relationship.

She pleaded with him to stop contacting her but McGinley, the self-styled Scottish Adventurer, refused to stop and desperately tried to rekindle their relationship.

READ MORE: Soldier 'couldn't see in the dark' before shooting Paisley comrade dead in military exercise

His ex-girlfriend, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was left terrified by his 'snappy and controlling' behaviour.

On one occasion he filmed himself laughing at her while she lay on a bathroom floor in a state of undress after she had drunkenly fallen off a toilet.

McGinley has nearly 10,000 followers on Instagram and also posts videos of his hill-climbing feats on YouTube.

But the woman told a court his public persona hid his 'manipulative and abusive' behaviour behind closed doors.

McGinley, of Glasgow, denied engaging in abusive behaviour towards the woman between August 2019 and July 2020 and went on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court but was found guilty.

Sheriff Colin Dunipace handed McGinley a two-year non-harassment order and deferred sentence for six months for good behaviour.

Giving evidence from behind screens, the woman told of the mental torture she endured at McGinley's hands.

She said: "He is quite nasty in real life. He is manipulative and abusive.

"That's not the person he portrays himself to be all over social media.

"He is snappy and manipulative."

McGinley repeatedly denied the allegations made by the woman and said she ended their relationship a matter of months after accusing him of cheating.

He added: "I never forced her to stay, but I tried to resolve things.

"I gave her access to my emails and social media, and I agreed to go to counselling.

"I had feelings for her and wanted it to work out.

"I jumped through the hoops she was laying out for me."

Sheriff Dunipace said: "I have considered this case carefully and I will issue a non-harassment order for two years.

"I will defer sentence for six months and you must be of good behaviour."

A charge alleging McGinley sent a photo to a second woman showing them having sex in a public toilet was found not proven.

He admitted taking a photo in the toilet of the Citation bar in Glasgow but insisted it was after they had had sex and were both fully clothed.

The woman, 40, had earlier claimed she was 'angry' after she discovered the photo which was later allegedly deleted.

Prosecutors had earlier dropped claims McGinley pursued a course of abusive conduct towards the second woman and had acted in a threatening or abusive manner towards a third woman.

McGinley has been ordered to return to court in May.

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