A police officer who faced stalking charges has been acquitted after a Dundee sheriff ruled he had no case to answer.
After just two days of trial, Sheriff Alastair Brown said there was insufficient evidence to convict David Fearn, of Police Scotland’s Tayside Division.
Fearn, 42, of the Craigie area of Dundee, had denied a 20-month campaign of harassment against former partner Nicola Thomson.
He was accused of harassment by accessing CCTV at the hairdressers where she worked, monitoring her emails, trying to control her mobile phone and loitering outside her home. It was also alleged that he placed his hands around her neck in one incident and in another drove close to the back of her car, gestured for her to pull over and then had an argument with her.
At the close of the Crown case, it was submitted there was no case to answer due to insufficient evidence, and yesterday Sheriff Brown sustained this and acquitted Fearn, right, of all charges.
He stated that there was no proof that Fearn had engaged in a course of action which would amount to stalking.
Sheriff Brown said: “In her evidence, Miss Thomson did not at any time say that the actions that the Crown charged caused her fear or alarm.
“That is enough to dispose of the charge.”
However, Sheriff Brown said his ruling was no verdict on the truth or otherwise of the allegations.
He said: “No attempt is made that I have formed any view about the truth or otherwise about the accusations made.
“It is agreed that he used the CCTV system and remote link to watch people in her hairdressing shop. It was common ground that Miss Thomson opened her hairdressing business and the CCTV system in the shop was upgraded so it could be viewed from a phone.
“Mr Fearn’s phone was set up so it could be used to monitor the CCTV.
“Miss Thomson said that was done for the protection of staff and also because she had concerns about the honesty of staff.”
Sheriff Brown said he had not heard any evidence that Fearn’s access to the CCTV was limited to times only when Miss Thomson was not in the shop.
The court heard no evidence from Fearn.