A Scottish man who once served as a body double for Brad Pitt on the set of World War Z was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the brutal rapes and beatings of several woman over a 12 year period.
Luke Ford, 35, was convicted of 19 charges involving violence, sexual assault, threats and abuse against women. As part of the charges, he was also convicted of "stealthing"– refusing to use protection during sexual intercourse without a partner's knowledge or consent, which equates to rape, according to the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service.
He was sentenced at the High Court of Edinburgh Wednesday.
Of Ford's nine victims – whom he met on dating apps – six were victims of rape.
He also strangled, smashed a woman's head on a car window, and slapped another victim in the face, authorities said, according to the BBC.
Several women accused him of exhibiting threatening, abusive and controlling behavior that made them fearful for their lives and safety.
"Ford is a dangerous and manipulative sexual predator," Police Scotland Det. Insp. Steven Gray said in a statement. "I would like to acknowledge how hard this has been for those involved and to also tell them that their testimonies vastly contributed to Ford being convicted. I hope that knowing he is now behind bars for his crimes helps them continue to move forward with their lives."
Ford targeted women beginning in 2008 until police launched an assault investigation into him in June 2020.
The "stealthing" case involved a victim he met on Tinder. The pair agreed to have sex after a few dates under the guise that Ford would wear a condom, authorities said, according to the outlet. Afterwards, he told her he nixed the contraceptive and that if she were to get pregnant, she would need to "get rid of it."
"Luke Ford is a serial offender who demonstrated no respect for the consent of his victims," Scotland's Procurator Fiscal for High Court Sexual Offending, Katrina Parkes, said in a statement.
"He was prepared to use manipulation, force or threats to carry out his abuse. He showed disregard for the importance of consent between partners," she continued.
"It is significant that amongst the many offences he committed our prosecutors were able to prove rape in Ford's failure to use a condom during sex – without the consent of his then-partner."
"I hope that the many victims in this troubling case find some relief in Ford being held accountable for his offending. I commend them for their courage and strength," she concluded.
Ford will be forced to register as a sex offender indefinitely.
