Unpaid work for Inverness man who left two women terrified after following them in city centre
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Alan Mitchell (49) followed one woman into a car park and lifted the skirt of another.
He had previously admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards the women.
He had followed his second victim from Morrisons supermarket in the city centre towards the railway station on January 18.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told he caught up with her and touched her coat before lifting her skirt and then mumbling: “That was nice.”
The incident occurred two months after he had followed another woman into the Rose Street car park in Inverness and watched her walk towards her car before knocking on the window and asking to talk to her.
The woman drove away and reported the matter to police.
Both incidents were captured on CCTV.
Sheriff Gary Aitken had already placed Mitchell, of Benula Road, Inverness, on the Sex Offenders’ Register ahead of today’s sentencing hearing because of the “significant sexual element of the second charge.”
Defence solicitor Rory Gowans said Mitchell had difficulty facing up to what he had done, or explaining his actions, except that his brother had died in a crash four years ago, followed shortly afterwards by the death of his mother and then the break-up of his marriage.
“He feels he had some sort of mental breakdown,” he said, arguing his client would benefit from rehabilitation rather than custody and adding that he offered an unreserved apology for his conduct.
Fiscal depute Niall Macdonald previously told the court that Mitchell’s first victim had felt “really uncomfortable” as she sensed him walking behind her and was now very wary in car parks and gets upset when she hears sounds similar to the knocking on her car window.
The second victim had also been left traumatised.
“The fear hit her when she got home as she pondered the ‘what ifs’," he said.
Sheriff Aitken said there was no doubt the offences were very serious and could merit a custodial sentence but added: “There are a number of issues in your life you have not addressed.
“If that is the case it’s time you did, to ensure that this never happens again.”
He ordered Mitchell to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community and placed him under social work supervision for three years.
