A nursery worker whose ex-boyfriend sent intimate photos to colleagues in an effort to get her fired has spoken about the “horrific and humiliating” experience.
Scott MacLeod, 33, pretended to be a concerned member of the public when he emailed the images and video to the Aberdeenshire nursery and threatened to tell others about what he called “inappropriate acts”.
Thankfully, the nursery staff saw straight through his cruel lies and MacLeod has now appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted disclosing intimate pictures and video without consent.
Speaking for the first time about the experience, his 19-year-old victim told how the “humiliating” and “horrific” incident could have easily ended her career.
And she also warned others about how so-called “revenge porn” cases can happen to anyone.
“It doesn’t just happen to celebs in Hollywood, it happens right here in Aberdeenshire,” she told The Press and Journal.
Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin told the court MacLeod sent an email to his ex’s workplace in the weeks after she ended their relationship due to his infidelity in October last year.
The email said: “The attached files are what’s been going around the local area and you can clearly see the nursery uniform.
“Personally, I think it’s unprofessional to put the company into that bad publicity.
“Someone who works with children shouldn’t be doing that inappropriate acts, especially in work attire.
“Due to having friends with children in the nursery, that’s why I’m raising my concerns as I don’t want other parents potentially seeing this and putting the business in a bad light.
“If this situation isn’t dealt with in the appropriate manner, I will have no option but to take this matter further.
“I have had advice from citizen’s advice.
“I know if this was the nursery my children were at they would be pulled out immediately and I’d be going to the education board and would be letting all other parents and guardians know.
“I hope to hear from you soon regarding this matter.”
Vengeful ex called nursery a second time
The nursery manager alerted the young woman to the email and she confirmed the only person she had sent the images to was MacLeod.
Police were contacted and, while officers were in attendance, MacLeod even phoned again, this time asking for an update on his complaint.
Ms Martin said: “He asked what consequences she would face as he felt she had committed gross misconduct.”
Police officers identified MacLeod from the phonecall and traced him at work in an Inverurie bakery. He was also found in possession of a knife.
Speaking at the conclusion of the case, MacLeod’s former partner said: “He was a very cruel man.
“He used affection as a form of both punishment and reward.
“He would give me tiny breadcrumbs of affection because he knew that would keep me hanging on.
‘The most hellish few weeks of my life’
“But he was also charming – partly, maybe, because I thought he did so much for me and my mum. But I started to see a lot of it was one way.”
She said the “cracks started to show” when she turned 18 and they made their nearly two-year relationship “official”.
Infidelity on his part, the feeling of being controlled and MacLeod’s jealousy prompted his girlfriend to end the relationship.
She claims what followed was weeks of unwanted attention, messages and phone calls before his “last-ditch” attempt to ruin her by sharing the photos with work colleagues.
“It was the most hellish few weeks of my life,” she said.
‘He did it out of pure cruelty’
“But those images were sent to only him and they were sent when we were in a relationship.”
She said she’s thankful that nursery staff believed her so quickly.
“The investigation at my work lasted all of 10 minutes,” she said.
“I had been very open with them about Scott throughout and they knew what was going on.
“As soon as the police confirmed he was behind it my work assured me it wouldn’t have any impact on me.
“But it was humiliating. My three managers all saw those images. It was horrific.
“I’m just grateful it didn’t ruin my career.
“He did it out of pure cruelty.
“I think he’s a very sad man to have to ruin someone’s life like that, especially mine when I am so young.”
Scott MacLeod ‘was trying to embarrass and upset his partner’
MacLeod, of Bramcote Terrace, Lumsden, pled guilty to disclosing pictures and a video showing his ex in an intimate situation which had not been disclosed to the public by her or with her consent.
He also admitted possession of a knife.
His defence agent Stuart Beveridge said: “It’s the end of the relationship and he’s trying to embarrass and upset his partner by sending a video and pictures to her employers.”
The solicitor explained their relationship came to an end due to infidelity and that the woman had called the police about concerns over MacLeod’s mental health.
He said: “He was upset by that and getting back at his former partner.”
Sheriff Rhona Wark fined him £500 and ordered him to keep away from his ex-girlfriend for nine months.
That punishment was branded “disgusting” by his victim.
She added: “After everything he put me through, that’s a drop in the ocean compared to the counselling I had to have and the fear I have to live in every day, looking behind me every day and always looking over my shoulder.
“It’s not a lot compared to what he put me through.
“You don’t think it happens to people like you and me. I was sucked in and I realise now how badly he treated me.
“And you don’t think things like the images will happen to you.
“But it doesn’t just happen to celebs in Hollywood, it happens right here in Aberdeenshire.”
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