A hotel worker accused of stalking her priest has claimed he tried to show her his bedroom after inviting her to his flat to look at his holiday snaps.
Marcela Lucanova told a court that she was the one being pursued by Father William MacLean – and that he often talked about getting married and having children.
She is on trial accused of stalking the churchman for eight months and bombarding him with e-mails.
But giving evidence in her own defence yesterday, the 31-year-old claimed Fr MacLean was “after her” for a relationship but had told her he could not afford to have a “scandal”.
Lucanova told Portree Sheriff Court that the Roman’s Catholic tried to show her his bedroom after inviting her into the St Mary’s parish church house on Skye to look at his holiday photographs.
She said: “I froze. It was an awkward situation. He is a keen cyclist so I said something about bikes to distract him from showing me his bedroom.
“It worked, and I made my excuses to leave the flat.”
Earlier in her evidence, Czech-born Lucanova, who now lives in Inverness, told the court: “It was him after me for a relationship I did not want.
“He got scared about possible scandal and told lies about me in the parish which turned people against me.
“The message he sent out to me was not that he did not want to have a relationship with me, just he did not want to have a scandal.
“He said that in a big city he could have a relationship with a woman but here on the island of Skye he would be watched.
“He told me he could not afford to screw it up and have scandal.”
Fr MacLean told the court earlier in the trial that Lucanova tried to undermine his vow of celibacy and get him to leave the priesthood and marry her.
He said they became friends in 2013, but she became more intense and he eventually blocked her e-mails.
Lucanova said yesterday that the priest was always approaching her to discuss his personal problems and seemed to question his own vocation.
She said he often talked to her about getting married and having children and said he could not believe he “signed the papers” on celibacy.
Lucanova, who hopes to start an accountancy course at college in Inverness, added: “He said he likes hugging. I would often put out my hand to shake his and he would hug me instead.
“I have issues about people pressing their bodies against me.
“On one of his e-mails to me he put a smiley face with its tongue hanging out. I did not understand so looked it up. It could be construed as sexual.
“I thought he probably does not know the tongue is a bit too far.
“I was not pursuing him in a romantic manner. I was only interested in a platonic friendship with my parish priest.
“From what he used to tell me I do not think he should have been a priest. He had his own doubts about his choice of career.”
In August last year Lucanova received a letter from St Mary’s “safe-guarding officer” Helen Gilpin placing restrictions on her access to the priest and his church.
She told the court: “They were trying to stop me practising my faith, which I have done since I was a little girl.
“I have taken a vow before God to tell the truth in court today and I am telling the truth.”
Her defence agent, solicitor Duncan Burd, suggested the church had “put up the shutters” on her and she replied: “I feel I have been banished and do not know why.”
Lucanova denies that between February and October 2014 at St Mary’s RC Church in Portree and elsewhere in Scotland she engaged in a course of conduct which caused Fr MacLean fear or alarm by repeatedly sending him e-mails and repeatedly attending at his house adjacent to the church.
The trial before Sheriff Richard Davidson was adjourned until July 23.