A survivor of serial sex attacker Alexander Thomson has said she will not let him “steal” another moment of her life.
Laura McEwan waived her anonymity to condemn Thomson and encourage other women to report abusers.
She said: “He may think he has broken me but he hasn’t. He’s in jail and powerless. I’m free and I’m not his victim. I’ll not allow that monster to steal one more minute of my life.”
Thomson, 42, was convicted of 17 charges of rape and sickening violence against four women.
The abuse across West Lothian between 2013 and 2019 included knocking one victim’s teeth out and making her swallow them.
Amongst his convictions was numerous rapes of Bernie Laing and Thomson was also found guilty of her attempted murder after he put a plastic bag over her head as she slept and tried to choke her.
Bernie, 30, died from an accidental drug overdose in July 2020 and yesterday we told how her mother Margaret blames Thomson for her daughter’s downward spiral.
After one attack on Laura, 41, in February 2017, she woke up in Falkirk General hospital. Thomson had beaten her unconscious, smashing her head with a cup, kicking and punching her.
She had no idea what had happened until a child who had been in her flat at the time told of the assault.
Laura said: “I was in agony for days. I had bruises all over me.
“When I got home my flat was wrecked, the radiator was ripped from the wall, the door was hanging off, the TV and every picture was smashed.
“He had gone berserk and I couldn’t remember any of it.”
Laura had first met Thomson in August 2016. He messaged her and asked for a lift after his girlfriend threw him out. Thomson, known as Ally, claimed he was homeless and she agreed to let him stay for a couple of days. Recovering addict Laura had just split from a long-term partner and Thomson quickly moved in on her life.
She said: “He was just there and I was lonely. I didn’t even find him attractive.”
On the third night in her home he grabbed her from behind and put a knife to her throat. Thomson began raping and choking Laura.
He also told her she was “disgusting and worthless”, that no one but him would want her, she claimed. Laura said: “The rapes happened a few times a week. I would try not to shower when he was nearby because he always raped me when I came out with a towel around me.
“My mental health rapidly deteriorated. I became a shadow of the person I had been. I resigned myself to that being my life forever. I was so unhappy but couldn’t see a way out. ”
Laura said Thomson kept tight control over her, keeping her phone, monitoring and deleting texts and pretending to be her, texting friends saying she wanted to cut contact.
He also kept her bank card and took the cash she earned from a weekend job, she claimed.
Laura also told how Thomson started drugging her coffee with heavy doses of a nerve relaxant which made her drowsy and nauseous.
Laura, of Blackburn, West Lothian, said: “He isolated me completely. He told me not to talk to anyone, that I only needed him. When I went outside on my own, I would keep my head down in case he was following me and he saw me speak to someone.
“When we were together, he controlled the conversation with other people. He was really vain and loved himself but there was nothing to love.”
Laura told how Thomson escorted her to a weekend job at a takeaway and waited outside for five hours until her shift finished before making her quit. She also had to ask his permission to wear make-up, what clothes to wear or how to style her hair.
One night when he was drunk, she wouldn’t let him in and he threatened to pour petrol through the door and burn the house down.
He was arrested but she agreed when he begged her to take him back.
On another occasion he pinned her to a couch, punched her eye and headbutted her face. He also smashed her phone so she couldn’t call for help.The Domestic Abuse Task Force came to see her in 2019 after he was reported for an attack on Bernie and Laura agreed to give evidence to help build a case against him.
At his trial she gave evidence by video link and Thomson was found guilty of three charges of rape and assault against her and two of domestic attacks between August 2016 and February 2017. Laura, who attended court once, said: “I was scared at first to see him and then he looked at me and I knew from that minute I wasn’t going to let that monster break me.
“He had a look of shock on his face, the colour drained from him. He was intimidated by me and it made me feel empowered. I needed that.
“He thought he had ruined my life forever but he hasn’t. I get stronger every day. I would tell other women who have suffered abuse to report it. The police will get justice and give you closure like they have for me.”
She said she will have full closure once he is sentenced in August and when he is likely to get a Lifelong Restriction Order.
Laura added: “He should never be released. He is always going to be a danger to women and he will never change.”
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