A man has been ordered to stay away from his ex-partner for five years after he was caught sneaking into her home using a key he had kept without her knowledge.
Austin Forbes, 44, was discovered within the property of his former partner on several occasions after the two had split up in early 2019.
The woman only managed to figure out how he was getting in when she caught him rifling through her handbag in the dead of night with a set of keys in his hand.
She found that Forbes had kept a key to the property on Mount Street, Aberdeen, despite the couple’s relationship ending weeks before.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how on one occasion between January 24 and February 29 2019 Forbes had angrily demanded entry to the property forcing his ex to sound her personal safety alarm to get him to leave.
Woman awoke to find accused going through her handbag
Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton told the court: “At 3.30am the same day the complainer went to the living room and a short time later heard a sound from the front door of the flat and despite it appearing to be secured the accused was found within the hallway and demanded to know where his ex-partner was.
“The daughter then asked him how he had managed to gain entry to the property however he did not respond.
“She requested him to leave.”
Forbes then bombarded the woman with up to 20 missed calls forcing her to block his number.
But the following night the woman was awoken by the sound of the front door and found him standing in the living room going through her handbag.
Mr Middleton added: “The contents of the bag were strewn across the floor.
“She then noticed that the accused had a set of keys and formed the opinion these were keys to her property.
“She challenged the accused and took possession of the keys and demanded that he leave.”
The woman discovered that the keys opened the communal front door and the door to her flat and realised Forbes had retained a copy without her knowledge.
She then found that Forbes had stolen a mobile telephone from her handbag and reported the circumstances to the police.
Forbes pleaded guilty to causing fear or alarm and of stealing a mobile phone.
He also admitted breaching an order not to contact his former partner.
‘This is a troubling course of conduct’
Defence agent Neil McRobert told the court that Forbes had been in a long-term relationship with the woman since the end of the 1990s.
He added: “The relationship is on-off and my understanding is that at the start of 2019 the couple were not together but had rekindled that relationship on February 14 that year.
“But that union only lasted a week or so before the couple split again.”
Sheriff William Summers told the 44-year old: “This is a troubling course of conduct directed towards your former partner.
“It is all the more troubling because of your record of previous convictions that include analogous offending and offending once on bail with domestic aggravations.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Summers sentenced Forbes, of Provost Graham Avenue, Aberdeen, to a community payback order that requires him to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
He also imposed a non-harassment order that means Forbes will need to stay away from his former partner for five years.
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