A man with a “creepy smile” left women upset and terrified by closely following and staring intensely at them, a court has heard.
Lachlan Bruce tailed four different females, including two 16-year-old girls, who were complete strangers to him.
The 25-year-old, who blamed his antics on drug taking and insisted they weren’t sexually motivated, largely targeted women around Aberdeen bus station.
Bruce followed victims around the streets and onto buses, where he would repeatedly move seats to be closer to them, all while fixing them with an intimidating stare.
Three of his victims were so scared they approached strangers for help, while another contacted a friend to pick her up and burst into tears.
Fiscal depute Rebecca Coakley told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the first incident happened on November 11 2023.
The court heard Bruce’s first victim was onboard a bus when she “felt like someone was staring at her”.
Ms Coakley said: “She looked up and saw the accused staring at her with what she described as a ‘creepy smile’.
“Throughout the remainder of the journey, she was aware of the accused staring at her and any time she looked towards him he’d look away before turning back and staring at her.”
The behaviour made the woman feel “extremely uncomfortable” and, when the bus stopped on Union Street at 10.50am, she decided to get off along with a number of other passengers.
But as she walked to the front of the bus, Bruce got off as well and waited for her.
The woman turned right and began to walk along Union Street, but realised Bruce was following behind her.
‘Extremely uncomfortable’
As she sped up, he did the same.
Ms Coakley said: “The complainer approached two members of the public and asked them to walk with her as she was being followed.”
Bruce’s second victim, a 16-year-old girl, noticed him while waiting for a bus at Union Square around 5.30pm on December 9.
The fiscal depute told the court: “When the bus arrived, a queue formed and the accused stood directly behind her.
“She felt he was much closer than he needed to be and could feel his presence directly behind her.”
The girl got onto the bus and sat upstairs, where Bruce followed and took a seat across the aisle from her.
Ms Coakley said: “He sat with his back against the window and was looking directly at her.
“Due to feeling uncomfortable, she moved several rows forward so she was no longer in his line of sight,
“After a few minutes, the accused moved and seated himself a couple of rows in front of her and continued to look through the gap in the seats at her.
“A few minutes later he moved again and sat in the row directly in front of her.
“The complainer immediately stood up and moved back a few rows to create further space.”
But Bruce, yet again, moved seats to follow the teenager, this time sitting diagonally opposite her.
‘She felt extremely scared and contacted a friend to collect her’
Ms Coakley said: “The complainer stood up and walked to the back of the bus with other passengers and explained why she was sitting with them. She no longer looked at the accused.”
Bruce’s third victim, also aged just 16, was again targeted at Aberdeen bus station, around 5.40pm on December 16.
The teen noticed Bruce when he stood “very close” to her and felt “extremely uncomfortable” about the situation.
Weeks later, on December 31, the girl was at the bus station and again saw Bruce staring at her.
He then walked over to the bench she was sitting on and sat down next to her.
When the girl walked into the shopping centre to get away from him, he followed.
Initially, she did not see Bruce as she walked around Costa, but when she headed back towards the bus station Bruce appeared again, following her back to the stance.
When she got on the bus Bruce followed directly behind her, sitting a few rows behind her upstairs.
Again, the 16-year-old noticed Bruce “staring directly at her” and felt “extremely uncomfortable”.
Ms Coakley said: “Around 20 minutes later, the accused moved from his seat and sat directly behind the complainer, placing his face in the gap between the seats around 15cm from her.
“She felt extremely scared and contacted a friend to collect her from the next stop.”
As the girl went to leave the bus, Bruce placed his leg in the aisle, forcing her to carefully manoeuvre around him.
When she made it to safety in her friend’s car she “burst into tears”.
But the teen still had not seen the last of Bruce.
She encountered him for a third time in the bus station again at 6.30pm on January 6.
This time, the girl was with a friend and, on spotting Bruce, again staring at her, pointed him out.
The pair waited for Bruce to board the bus first and, when he sat upstairs, they remained downstairs.
Victim number four
But 20 minutes later, Bruce walked downstairs and sat down a few rows behind them.
Whenever they glanced round, they could see Bruce was staring at the girl.
Five or 10 minutes later he moved and sat across the aisle from them, staring at the complainer for the rest of the journey until he got off at Tarves.
Bruce’s fourth victim first noticed him following her closely as she left Union Square around 7pm on December 30, in between the incidents with the third complainer.
The fiscal depute said: “She felt scared although decided not to look at the accused and continued walking on Bridge Street.
“She stopped at a crossing close to Soul and became aware of the accused standing closely on her right-hand side. As she looked up she saw the accused staring at her.
“The complainer became wary of the accused’s strange behaviour and felt worried for her safety.”
The woman went into a Tesco Express store in a bid to lose Bruce but again encountered him inside with the same unnerving stare.
When she left the shop, Bruce was already outside waiting and staring at her.
By this point, the woman was “frightened” and Bruce continued to follow her as she approached a bus stop on Holburn Street before suddenly appearing in front of her.
‘Very alarming to all of the women who were affected’
Ms Coakley said: “The complainer stopped two members of the public and requested they walk her home.”
Bruce, of Tarves, pled guilty to four charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Defence agent John McLeod said his client appeared with no analogous previous convictions and only road traffic matters on his record.
He explained Bruce had limited recollection of the offences due to drug use at the time, but was now taking steps to address that issue.
The solicitor also highlighted that it was accepted there was no sexual motivation behind the offences.
Sheriff Andrew Miller told Bruce: “It’s very easy to understand why your behaviour would have been so very alarming to all of the women who were affected.”
He described the offences as “bizarre” and “very concerning”.
As a direct alternative to custody, he ordered Bruce to complete 160 hours of unpaid work and be supervised for 18 months.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.