A police officer has been accused of breaching data protection laws by using work computers to snoop on dozens of people – including his future wife.
Constable Crawford Reay will face a string of charges when he goes on trial next month.
The 47-year-old is alleged to have committed the offences at police stations in Elgin and Rothes between 2012 and 2013.
He faces nine charges of knowingly and recklessly obtaining personal data by accessing police crime files, and viewing the information “without a policing purpose”.
Prosecutors allege that in one session he pried into the affairs of roughly 20 members of the public.
He is accused of acting without the consent of the data controller – in this case, the chief constable of Grampian Police.
The first charge against him alleges that on January 16, 2012 he looked up a specific crime file to gain information on Anna Crawford while he was working in Elgin.
He is accused of accessing the police Webstorm crime recording database that July to glean information on the same woman, for reasons unrelated to his job.
Constable Reay is also accused of breaching data protection laws on August 6, 2012 by seeking information on Anna Crawford again, along with two others with that surname, while working at Rothes police station.
He is also accused of accessing private information two weeks later at the same police office relating to at least 19 people, including his future wife Tania Maccoll, and four other people with that surname and 14 with the surname Crawford.
He also faces another charge of breaching the data protection act on August 28, 2012, to check on Anna Crawford’s files.
On January 7, 2013, he is alleged to have accessed protected information relating to Phillip and Jacqueline Reay.
It is also alleged that on February 3 he obtained information on Anna Crawford again – along with six others of that surname.
And he is accused of making checks on Anna Crawford for a seventh time on June, 2013.
All th4e charges Constable Reay faces relate to alleged breaches of section 55 (1) a of the 1998 Data Protection Act – which expressly forbids knowingly or recklessly obtaining personal data without the permission of the person controlling it.
The officer, who is originally from Milngavie in East Dumbartonshire, worked for Strathclyde Police before moving to Moray.
Constable Reay was excused from attending a preliminary hearing at Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday.
His lawyer, Sarah Livingstone, said that the full-time officer was on duty and was permitted not to appear at intermediate diets.
Constable Reay, whose address was given in court only as Bucksburn police office in Aberdeen, is due to go on trial on Tuesday, March 22.
A police spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that a serving officer has been reported in relation to the alleged breaching of data protection legislation between January 2012 and June 2013.
“As the case is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”