A law student’s creepy anonymous calls using a robot voice making sexual threats to women have left his career in tatters, his lawyer told a court today.
Adam Fowlie plagued three fellow students with chilling calls while hiding his number and, for one victim, using an automated voice generator to disguise his identity.
The 23-year-old – who told a woman “I want to rape you” before mentioning her name and where she lives – was eventually unmasked when one of his victims used an app that could reveal withheld phone numbers.
Now, as he returned to the dock to be sentenced, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told of the “catastrophic” impact the offences have had on Fowlie.
The suspended law student is “extremely” unlikely to be reinstated on his course and has had job offers whipped off the table due to his own disturbing actions.
Defence agent Chris Maitland said his client was suffering from “poor mental health” at the time of the offences.
He added: “He advised he was ashamed and embarrassed by his conduct and appeared sincere during interview when expressing himself.”
Mr Maitland said Fowlie had been attending counselling for two years.
‘Punished already’ due to ‘publicity’ of court case
He went on: “He was, as of February, suspended from his course. It seems extremely likely he will not be reinstated.
“He already had offers of jobs at the end of university, which he’s lost as a result of all of this.”
The lawyer said Fowlie, of Aulton of Auquharney, Hatton, had been “punished already” due to the “significant and devastating” impact the offences have had on his life.
He added: “He suffered a deterioration in his mental health as a result of the publicity of this matter.”
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin said: “The impact on the victims is quite significant. It’s distressing behaviour for them.
“It’s clear it had an utterly catastrophic effect on your career prospects.”
She imposed a two-year supervision order, 180 hours of unpaid work and a requirement to complete the Moving Forward, Making Changes programme.
The sheriff also made him subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act for two years and imposed two-year non-harassment order in relation to each of the women targeted.
Victim downloaded ‘Show The Number’ app
Fiscal depute Sean Ambrose previously told the court that Fowlie began his campaign of frightening behaviour against the first woman at around 11.20am on September 10 2019.
After ignoring a number of the calls because she thought they were spam, the woman answered and heard a male voice “panting” before he made a lewd sexual comment.
He then bombarded her with repeated anonymous calls and when she finally answered he used an automated voice that “referred to the complainer by name and the town in which she resided”.
Mr Ambrose told the court that when the woman immediately terminated the call due to being afraid that he knew where she lived.
Fowlie then called back a few minutes later and stated her full name, before telling her “I want to rape you”. He then groaned in a sexual manner before terminating the call.
On the same day, Fowlie called another woman who answered two ‘No Caller ID’ calls to hear him groaning in a sexual way.
Fowlie called one woman 17 times in less than a week
She immediately downloaded an app called ‘Show The Number’ and identified the mobile phone number making the calls.
Fowlie then made a further eight calls and was taken in by the police for questioning, where he denied making them but did accept that it was his number.
Almost a month later, on October 6, Fowlie began repeatedly calling a third woman telling her he was “so horny” and alarmed her with further sexually suggestive comments.
He called her a further six times the following day.
That evening he called the woman again and stated her name before making a sexually threatening comment.
Fowlie went on to call the woman numerous times over the next several days where he either moaned or made a vile sexual comment.
In total, Fowlie called the woman 17 times in less than a week before being arrested by police on November 2 2019.
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