A POLICE officer has appeared in court charged with a series of offences alleged to have been committed against three women in Ayrshire and Glasgow – including claims that he strangled one and punched her while she was pregnant.

Oliver Sage, 35, denied all the charges against him when he appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.

The Crown alleges that Sage, whose address was given as c/o Police Scotland’s professional standards department in French Street, Glasgow, engaged in a course of conduct that caused a former partner fear or alarm at two addresses in Irvine and at a pub in Glasgow.

It’s alleged that between November 1, 2015 and November 30, 2017, he repeatedly messaged her, questioned her, demanded to know who she was with and who she was talking to, and that he monitored her movements and controlled what she posted on social media.

The prosecution also accuses him of acting in an aggressive manner towards a friend of the woman by seizing her by the body, shouting in her face, demanding to know where they’d been and what they’d been doing and talking about.

The same charge alleges that Sage sat on top of his ex-partner, seized her by the neck and compressed it to restrict her breathing, controlled what makeup and clothes she wore, ripped her clothes, and punched her on the body while she was pregnant.

Sage has also been accused of engaging in behaviour that was abusive towards another partner or ex-partner at three locations in Kilmarnock between December 1, 2021 and November 26, 2023.

It’s alleged that he repeatedly accused the woman of looking at and speaking to other men, that he tried to control who she spoke to and where she went, and that he questioned her, messaged her, contacted her after he had been ‘blocked’ on social media and demanded that she unblock him.

The final charge accuses Sage of engaging in a course of conduct that was abusive towards a third partner or ex-partner at Govan police office, and at locations in Hurlford and Kilmarnock, between April 1 and November 5, 2023.

The Crown alleges that he repeatedly acted in a jealous manner towards the woman by repeatedly questioning her, making accusations and offensive remarks towards her and acting in a coercive and controlling manner.

He is also accused of having controlled the clothes and makeup the woman wore, to have attempted to shame her for her clothing and makeup choices, to have monitored her mobile phone and to have demanded she tell him who was messaging her.

Sage is also said to have repeatedly messaged the woman and demanded she respond to him quickly, to have controlled where she went and what she did, and to have controlled who she communicated with on social media and what photos she posted.

The prosecution claims that he monitored the woman’s movements and who she was with, and that he uttered abusive remarks towards her.

Sage was granted bail by Sheriff Nicola Patrick and is due to return to court to stand trial later in the year.

As part of the bail order he has been banned from entering, or attempting to enter, one street in Irvine and two more in Kilmarnock.