The victim of a terrifying stalker who absconded from prison to go boozing in Aberdeen has hit out at a sheriff’s decision not to punish him.
Scott Emslie, who was jailed earlier this year for the “sinister” and relentless torment of a woman he had briefly dated, had been granted day release from his open prison to attend an appointment with social workers.
The 31-year-old former offshore worker travelled to the Aberdeen for the meeting but instead of returning to Tayside as promised he joined a family member “for a couple of drinks”.
Emslie’s victim, Catherine Tiphanie, discovered her stalker had gone missing when police officers turned up at her door on Friday night to warn her.
Emslie was eventually tracked down by officers at a pub in the city centre at around 10pm – four hours after he had been due to return to Castle Huntly.
Appearing at Perth Sheriff Court, Emslie admitted a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice on December 13.
He was formally admonished by Sheriff Alan Findlay, meaning he won’t be punished for flouting the prison rules.
Ms Tiphanie hit out at that decision, saying it made a “mockery” of justice.
She said: “It took so much energy to get [Emslie] to court and to get a decent prison sentence and now he’s been let off here – he’s making a mockery of a broken system.”
She also questioned the wisdom of placing her stalker in Castle Huntly, an open prison that allows him day release.
Stalker’s victim: ‘I’m terrified to go out’
Ms Tiphanie said she has been in a state of fear since discovering Emslie was being allowed out.
“I’m terrified to go out knowing that he is roaming around Aberdeen on his days out,” she said.
“This is not good enough – I’m a vulnerable female who lives on her own and I’m entitled to feel safe.”
Perth Sheriff Court heard that Emslie had been granted a temporary release on the condition that he would be back by 6pm.
Solicitor Mike Tavendale, defending, said: “There really is no excuse. This was down to his own gross stupidity.”
Stalker facing tougher jail conditions
He said his client had attended at the social work meeting, but had afterwards bumped into a relative.
“They went off for a couple of drinks and unfortunately he did not go back,” Mr Tavendale said.
Emslie was moved to open prison Castle Huntly in October, having served parts of his sentence in Glenochil, Polmont and Grampian.
He was previously granted temporary release five times without incident, the court heard.
Mr Tavendale said: “He tells me his mental health has been suffering and he has struggled to get that properly investigated.
“He realises he will now have to go back to closed conditions and that this could affect his release date.”
Emslie was jailed for 30 months in February, following a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis heard how he spray-painted abuse on Ms Tiphanie’s car and demanded money from her “as compensation for his mental health”.
He sent her sinister text messages, turned up at her home uninvited and followed her on nights out to an Italian restaurant and the theatre.
The pair first met up during lockdown, but Ms Tiphanie broke it off soon after.
Emslie took the separation badly and kicked down Ms Tiphanie’s front door.
For that, he received an 18-month non-harassment order.
Ms Tiphanie said he was “counting down the days” for the order to expire, before he began stalking her day and night.
Speaking to the Press and Journal after Emslie was jailed in February, she said: “I’ve had to put up with this for years and it’s only my tenacity and documenting everything that has got me to where I am now.”