A “high-risk” serial sex offender is behind bars today after he stalked an Aberdeen medical student by sending her sinister messages about Satan and claiming she was his wife.
Jon Coltart, 39, had never met his victim but sent unwanted messages to her for nine months and even claimed on Facebook that they were in a sexual relationship.
He was eventually arrested after turning up at the Foresterhill medical campus in a “hyper” state and saying he wanted to pay her a “surprise visit”.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told he used a photograph of the woman as his profile picture and posted about how she was “beautiful” and that he was “so proud of her”.
Coltart claimed the pair had met and married between 2007 and 2010 when he was a surgeon in Glenrothes.
But the woman told police she didn’t know Coltart and “had never met him”.
Coltart, who has convictions for sexual offences dating back to 2011 and was described by Police Scotland as a high-risk sex offender, pleaded guilty to causing the woman to suffer fear and alarm between June 19 2021 and March 24 2022.
A frightening obsession
Fiscal depute Alan Townsend told the court that things began to escalate when the woman received a notification to her Gmail account alerting her to a message from Coltart.
“The subject heading was ‘marriage’ and the message itself said ‘Hi xxxx00xx’.
“When she got home she saw she had three messages from the accused with the subject heading ‘so proud of you’ and the message read ‘congratulations on all the new hospitals in Scotland’ and ‘well done, beautiful. So happy and proud of you’.”
Mr Townsend said Coltart sent the woman a further message stating “I’m all yours”, which alarmed her.
He added: “She was concerned that he was obsessed with her and that the behaviour might escalate from online to try and meet her in person, so she reported the matter to police.”
Coltart then posted a Facebook message stating the pair were married in 2007 and that they were living together and in a sexual relationship.
He also used her LinkedIn profile picture as his Facebook profile picture.
There was a change in tone in the messages around June 19 last year when Coltart mentioned “suicide”, “fire” and “Satan”.
On March 24 this year Coltart approached a receptionist at The Suttie Centre within the Aberdeen hospital campus “acting hyper” and demanded to speak to the student, claiming that she was his ex-wife.
He told the receptionist it was a “surprise visit”.
Mr Townsend said: “The receptionist felt that he was up to no good and notified security.”
Coltart then left but later appeared at the security desk of the Polwarth Building at the site and again demanded to “speak with his wife”.
The woman was notified that a man had attended and was claiming to be her husband and she contacted the police.
Coltart wasn’t traced but CCTV footage from the building was seized and a couple of days later was arrested at his home in Glenrothes.
Stalker told police ‘I understand how serious this is’
When interviewed by officers Coltart stated: “I understand how serious this is but I did not mean to cause her any distress.
“I was just trying to go the right way through the police to contact her.
“If she does not want to see me, she does not want to see me.”
Coltart, who legally represented himself, was remanded in custody until sentencing.
Sheriff Shirley McKenna said: “You have pled guilty to this charge.
“I’m going to reserve anything you have got to say until we have reports.”
She called for a criminal justice social work report, a restriction of liberty order assessment and a psychiatric report to be carried out.
Sheriff McKenna also put a non-harassment order in place meaning Coltart, of Brae Court, Glenrothes, cannot approach the woman.
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