A former military man built up a secret stash of photographs of a supermarket worker and tried to follow her home.
Richard Moran had been hanging around Tesco in Forres for two months before Carly Paterson became so alarmed she called the police.
When officers visited his home on Fleurs Place, Forres, they found nearly 40 photos of the cashier on his laptop and phone.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard yesterday that analysis of the images revealed Moran had taken numerous secret photos of her, and then repeatedly duplicated them.
And even after he had been charged, social workers discovered Moran still had images of the cashier on his devices.
Yesterday, Sheriff Chris Dickson ordered the 45-year-old to stay away from Ms Paterson, and banned him from entering Tesco Forres.
He said: “I’m not sure you understand how serious, sinister and unpleasant this offence was and how scary it must have been for her.
“It is also a source of considerable concern to the court that you still had photos of her on your devices when social workers attended your home. After today, you will have nothing else to do with her.”
The court heard that Moran first began making Ms Paterson uncomfortable in December last year, when he would go into the supermarket and stand and stare at her. He always used her checkout.
But matters escalated on February 5 when he tried to follow her home.
Fiscal depute Alex Swain said: “Ms Paterson finished her shift at 2pm that afternoon and began walking down Nairn Road. She noticed that the accused started following her.
“She continued to walk down Nairn Road and saw that he was still behind her. As she approached Victoria Hotel, she saw that he was no longer there. However, as she carried on she saw him in front of her running towards her but he saw her, stopped and walked away.
“Considering these situations, with the accused making her feel uncomfortable at work previously, she contacted the police.”
After looking at CCTV, officers noticed Moran would go into the shop and walk around looking for Ms Paterson, sometimes standing outside and waiting for her to leave.
Moran admitted engaging in a course of conduct that had caused the cashier fear and alarm.
However, defence solicitor Stephen Carty told the court his client had not intended to upset Ms Paterson.
“He fully accepts what he did it but there was a lack of intention of causing fear and alarm.
“My client has long suffered from mental health problems and it was very poor at this time. He used to be gainfully employed in the armed forces but was discharged because of these problems.”
Sheriff Dickson put Moran on a 30-month supervision order and banned him from entering Tesco in Forres. He also told him not to approach or contact Ms Paterson directly or indirectly, banned him from her street and ordered him to delete all images of her from his devices and social media.
