A woman woke up disorientated in the dead of night to find her landlord sexually assaulting her, a court has heard.
Alastair Robertson, 63, snuck into the woman’s bed as she slept, climbed on top of her and touched her private parts before demanding that she have sex with him, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
When the horrified woman jumped out of the bed and refused, he blamed her for being a “tease” and said that if she reported what happened “no one would believe” her.
However, the woman later recorded a telephone conversation between her and Robertson in which he admitted what he had done.
Later, when the woman tried to pick up her belongings from Robertson’s home, he produced a hammer and began to smash the walls in a furious rage.
Woman woke up to find Alastair Robertson on top of her demanding sex
Fiscal depute Lucy Simpson told the court that the woman had lived with Robertson for a number of months when she went to bed on May 25 last year.
She awoke with a dry mouth and feeling disorientated, which she believed was due to medication she consumed previously.
But she quickly realised Robertson was on top of and sexually assaulting her.
When he saw that she was awake, he demanded she let him have sex with her.
The woman immediately jumped out of bed and asked him what he was doing, to which he responded by calling her a “tease” and a “slut”.
He added that, if she reported the assault, “no one would believe her”.
Thinking she could not prove what had happened to her, the victim did not immediately report her ordeal to the police.
However, a month later, the woman recorded a phone call between the pair in which Robertson responded to the woman accusing him of sexual assault by stating: “I winna touch you again, right, ever. I’m nae even lying.”
The woman then reported the matter to police and Robertson was cautioned, arrested and made subject to bail conditions requiring him to leave the woman alone.
But, two days later, she received a phone call from him, saying that he loved her.
She contacted the police and while giving a statement, Robertson called her again.
When arrested by the police, he claimed he was “trying the phone out” and had put the woman’s number in but “hadn’t expected it to ring”.
During a subsequent police interview, Robertson admitted sexually assaulting the woman.
Robertson smashed the walls with a hammer when victim returned to collect her belongings
On October 22 last year, the woman went with a friend to Robertson’s home to collect some of her belongings.
Robertson answered the door with one hand behind his back and shouted at the woman friend.
He exclaimed: “You’re taking her away from me.”
Then he called her a “slut” before producing a hammer and using it to smash the walls.
In the dock, Robertson pled guilty to one charge of sexual assault and two charges of breaching his bail conditions not to approach or contact his victim.
He also admitted to a further charge of acting in a threatening or abusive manner towards the same woman.
Defence solicitor Alex Burn told the court that a psychological assessment and background reports claimed Robertson has poor “cognitive function and memory recall”.
No jail for man whose ‘actions were wrong’
The solicitor said that, at the time of these offences, his client had “relapsed” after abstaining from alcohol for 18 years.
“He did act in the manner described and he realises now that his actions were wrong,” Mr Burn continued.
“Mr Robertson does not try to avoid blame for what he did and he has not attempted to minimise what happened at all.”
Sheriff Philip Mann told Robertson that the fact that he fell in love with the woman “doesn’t excuse this type of behaviour”.
He added: “It was totally uncalled for, completely wrong and no doubt caused a degree of stress to the young lady.”
As an alternative to a custodial sentence, Sheriff Mann imposed a community payback order on Robertson, of St Ninian’s Place, Aberdeen.
The offender will remain under supervision for two years and must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
The sheriff also placed Robertson on the sex offenders register for two years.
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