Man is placed on sex offenders register for writing love letter

Published on Thursday 9 October 2008 21:53

QUESTIONS were raised last night over the purpose of the sex offenders register after a man was placed on it for sending a love letter to a neighbour.

John Williamson began the note by telling Marion Stewart, 21, that he "wasn't a serial stalker or anything like that", before going on to state that he had developed a crush on her and asking her to get in touch so they could go on a date.

Williamson, of Blairgowrie, hand-delivered the letter to the mother of one, who lives nearby.

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis placed him on the register at Perth Sheriff Court because the letter strayed from expressions of affection into admissions that he was "horny" and "gagging for" her.

Williamson, 33, admitted breaching the peace on 15 July by delivering a letter to Miss Stewart that contained sexual references.

John Scott, a leading human rights lawyer, said: "The sheriff must have satisfied himself that there was sufficient sexual element because a breach of the peace offence does not include an automatic registration element.

"But it sounds strange and it doesn't really sound like the sort of thing the register was designed for. The police are busy enough keeping an eye on people who pose genuine threats to take on people who can't write letters or have poor judgment. Generally, I would say the type of person who is a real threat would not send a letter in advance of an attack, identifying himself."

Mr Scott added there may have been information not divulged in court that prompted the sheriff's decision, but that raises further concerns about the transparency of justice.

Concerns have been voiced previously about the way the register is used. Last year, a man was placed on it after he was found having sex with a bike in a hotel room in Ayr.

During the hearing yesterday, Stuart Richardson, the fiscal depute, said: "The lady is 21 and she lives with her child. Williamson is a neighbour, and she said she is only aware of him in that he lives nearby.

"They have not been friendly and she cannot recall having spoken to him before. She went out of the house briefly and when she came back in, a note had been put through her door.

"The basic tenor of the note was that he had formed something of a crush and he was suggesting she might like to contact him so they could go out. He … tried to reassure her he was not some serial stalker.

"All that might just have been treated as an unwanted advance, but halfway down he described seeing her earlier that day and he was 'so horny he couldn't help himself'. He concluded that he hoped to hear from her soon: 'I mean pronto because I'm gagging for you.' The lady was taken aback by the content of this note and she told the police."

Donald Elliot, solicitor for the defence, said: "He intended to ask her out, but did so in an inappropriate manner. It is not at the higher end of misbehaviour."

Sheriff Foulis said he considered there was a "significant sexual element" in the letter. He told Williamson he would place him on the sex offenders register, and sentence was deferred for reports until next month.

FACT BOX

THE sex offenders' register contains the details of anyone convicted, cautioned or released from prison for a sexual offence against children or adults since September 1997, when it was established. The register, run by the police, is not retroactive, so does not include anyone convicted before 1997.

It is essentially a monitoring device; forces can apply for sex offender orders, which bar those on the register from certain activities and areas frequented by children, as well as surveillance through electronic tagging. Those jailed for more than 30 months for sexual offending go on the register indefinitely.