An Aberdeen University law student who terrified three fellow students with a series of sexually-threatening calls was caught when one of his victims turned the tables on him.
Adam Fowlie, 23, hid his phone number and disguised his voice with an automated voice generator when he made the menacing calls to three women.
He told one “I want to rape you” and then, chillingly, mentioned her name and where she lives.
Fowlie also bombarded another young woman with 17 calls in one week that were full of vile sexual remarks.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told he was eventually unmasked when one of his victims used a phone app that could reveal withheld phone numbers.
Fowlie, who has been suspended from Aberdeen University after complaints were made about him, admitted to making nearly 40 calls where he made sexual comments and threatened sexual violence.
His solicitor said he was “ashamed” and “humiliated” by his behaviour.
Fiscal depute Sean Ambrose told the court that Fowlie began his campaign of frightening behaviour against the first woman at around 11.20am on September 10 2019.
After ignoring a number of the calls because she thought they were spam, the woman answered and heard a male voice “panting” before he made a lewd sexual comment.
He then bombarded her with repeated anonymous calls and when she finally answered he used an automated voice that “referred to the complainer by name and the town in which she resided”.
Mr Ambrose told the court that when the woman immediately terminated the call due to being afraid that he knew where she lived.
Fowlie then called back a few minutes later and stated her full name, before telling her “I want to rape you”. He then groaned in a sexual manner before terminating the call.
On the same day, Fowlie called another woman who answered two ‘No Caller ID’ calls to hear him groaning in a sexual way.
She immediately downloaded an app called ‘Show The Number’ and identified the mobile phone number making the calls.
Fowlie then made a further eight calls and was taken in by the police for questioning, where he denied making them but did accept that it was his number.
Almost a month later, on October 6, Fowlie began repeatedly calling a third woman telling her he was “so horny” and alarmed her with further sexually suggestive comments.
He called her a further six times the following day.
That evening he called the woman again and stated her name before making a sexually threatening comment.
Fowlie went on to call the woman numerous times over the next several days where he either moaned or made a vile sexual comment.
In total, Fowlie called the woman 17 times in less than a week before being arrested by police on November 2 2019.
Fowlie pleaded guilty to one charge of making repeated telephone calls that were of a sexual nature or threatened sexual violence.
He also admitted a second charge of making unsolicited calls to a fellow student in which he uttered sexual comments and a third charge of causing needless anxiety to a woman by making repeated calls where he made sexual comments or sexual noises.
‘He apologises unreservedly to the young women involved
Defence agent George Mathers told the court that his client was “thoroughly ashamed of himself”.
“He is clearly humiliated and embarrassed and very sorry to the court.
“He is also very sorry for what he has done and he knows that it was completely inappropriate, disgraceful and disgusting behaviour.
“He has himself to blame and he apologises unreservedly to the young women involved.”
Mr Mathers added that Fowlie had been suspended from his law degree by Aberdeen University as a result of his behaviour.
“He won’t be back. That was in his final year so he’s lost all of that and lost the opportunity of becoming what he very much wanted to do as a profession,” he added.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin deferred sentence on Fowlie, of Millview, Aulton Of Auquharney, Hatton, in order for a criminal justice social work report to be carried out.
She also placed him on the sex offenders’ register.
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