A serial sex offender has avoided jail again after admitting to persistently harassing his new neighbour.
Victor Rae, 46, noticed a woman had moved into the flat opposite his in July this year and made efforts to befriend her and help her with housework.
He told her he was lonely and would like her to be his girlfriend.
Over the course of the following eight days he consistently walked into the property uninvited or, if when the door was locked, knocked repeatedly until he was let in. On July 28 he entered the flat around 4pm but was told his help was not required.
Later he began to pull at his trousers and his victim thought he was doing this to get her to look at his groin.
She then poured boiling water on the kitchen floor to warn and get him out.
Housing officers were informed and police contacted. Yesterday Rae confessed to the offence during an appearance at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Mike Munro, defending, said Rae had quit the property. He said: “Mr Rae is a very complex person who has had a number of difficulties. At the start he was acting as a good neighbour and she accepted this.
“However he turned into a frightening neighbour. He has since then removed himself from the address and is living with his mother.”
Rae has been guilty of a number of sexual offences in Aberdeen before including rubbing his groin in front of a dog walker in the Diamond Woods on Tullos Hill in March this year.
Sheriff Colin Dunipace said he had considered a custodial sentence.
“It must have been a frightening experience for the complainer. I consider both objectively and subjectively that this was a sexual offence. However I am not going to impose a custodial sentence.”
Rae, whose address was given as Provost Rust Drive in Aberdeen, was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and will remain on the sex offenders register for another three years.