A stalker who left a woman so unnerved and stressed that her hair fell out has blamed his actions on a “spiritual awakening”.
Stuart Rhind subjected his victim to six months of unwanted attention after claiming there was “an element of synchronicity” between them.
The 40-year-old, who never actually met the woman in person, stalked her via Instagram, phone and on one occasion even had a jumper delivered to her home address.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that his victim, a life coach, was left so stressed and alarmed by the total stranger’s actions that she had been left suffering anxiety and stress-related hair loss.
Some of his unwanted messages contained declarations of love and affection, while others made reference to “witches and devils”, finding God and using Tinder.
Hounded woman he’d never met
Fiscal depute Nicole Lewis said those messages, posts and parcel delivery were made between October 2021 and March 2022 after Rhind discovered the woman’s business account on Instagram.
She said the pair exchanged messages without issue for over a year before Rhind’s interactions became “rambling” and concerning.
“She didn’t know the accused and when the messages continued she became uncomfortable with the contact,” the fiscal added.
“In late September 2021 she asked him to stop contacting her but in October 2021 she received further rambling messages from him saying, amongst other things, ‘it’s probably a good thing nothing happened between us because I’m all over the place and you really don’t want to be a part of that’.
“She told him he was making her very uncomfortable and he responded calling himself a ‘f****** idiot’ and referring to his mental health.”
After this Rhind started to react to a lot of her public Instagram posts with negative and thumbs-down emojis at which point the woman blocked him.
Then, on December 11 2021, Rhind’s victim arrived home to find a parcel sitting in her communal hallway addressed to “Mrs A Rhind” and with a postcode matching that of Rhind’s home address.
“It contained a jumper and was at the front door of her flat,” the court heard. “She immediately checked her Instagram account and found a message stating ‘I love you. I am so sorry’.
“The complainer felt things had escalated and reported the matter to the police.”
Officers warned Rhind to leave her alone but just 10 days later he sent a further message containing simply a full stop.
‘Please don’t see me as some kind of crazy stalker’
When she then checked his Instagram page there was a public post directed at her.
It read: “The boys in blue also made it clear to me but I didn’t listen.
“Please don’t see me as some kind of crazy stalker.”
But months later, in February 2022 things took an unnerving turn starting with a “rambling apology”.
“He tried to explain himself for no reason,” the fiscal added. “He mentioned witches and devils and those messages unnerved the complainer. He felt unsure where he was going with the messages.”
One final text message to her mentioned him “being single, finding God, love and Tinder” and after this, he was charged by police.
The court heard the woman suffered the loss of her hair due to anxiety caused by Rhind’s actions and was also left “too terrified” to sleep alone in her own home.
Rhind admitted one charge of stalking at a pre-trial hearing.
His defence agent Gail Goodfellow said her client was a self-employed delivery driver and former oil industry worker who lives with his parents.
She said the pair communicated for a year without incident before the commission of these offences.
Claimed they shared ‘synchronicity’
“In his own mind he felt there was a connection between them and a joint interest in spiritualism which leads on to the devil and witches comments,” Mrs Goodfellow said.
“He felt there was an element of synchronicity between them.”
The solicitor went on to quote various instances of perceived “synchronicity” between them, including bumping into the same people or coming across mutual connections online.
“He thought they had a shared interest in spiritualism,” she added. “He was going through what he describes as a spiritual awakening.”
The court heard that the mention of demons was “in no way a threat” and that the jumper was “a gift and form of apology”.
Sheriff Rhona Wark said it was a “particularly unpleasant situation” for the woman involved.
She fined Rhind, of Keir Rise, Balmedie, £840 and ordered him to stay away from the woman for 12 months.
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