A Portuguese man who followed a police officer to Turkey to present her with a peanut and tried to impress her by making lemonade has escaped deportation.
Jeronimo Bouceiro, 42, of Main Street, Crook of Devon, was given a 10-year non-harassment order at Perth Sheriff Court not to contact or approach Gillian Farnington and members of her family, told not to enter an area of Perth and also told not to enter Perth Leisure Pool or the Bell’s Sports Centre, Perth.
A request by the Crown to have him deported was turned down by Sheriff Michael Fletcher as he felt the case did not warrant it.
Bouceiro had been found guilty after trial of engaging in a course of conduct that caused Ms Farnington fear and alarm between May 27 2011, and March 23 2012, by texting, emailing, calling and writing to her, stating he was in love with her, following her on holiday to Turkey, carrying out surveillance in order to establish her address and phone number and watching her.
The Portuguese national who represented himself at the bizarre trial burst into a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s My Way at the end of his court submissions.
During the long-running trial, the court had heard that Bouceiro had been a lodger with PC Farnington at her home in the Carse of Gowrie, prior to her asking him to leave.
He had claimed she had been impressed by him making lemonade with lemons he had brought back from Portugal and was convinced she wanted a relationship with him.
The court had heard that Bouceiro felt “broken hearted” when Ms Farnington told him to leave her home, but he memorised the dates she was going on holiday to Turkey.
The police officer had told the court she was “completely shocked” when he sat next to her on a sun lounger in Turkey and then sent a letter to her bedroom.
Bouceiro who had recently been detained in Murray Royal Hospital, Perth had left a peanut in a jewellery box at the hotel reception in Turkey and Ms Farnington also claimed he had rifled through her bins and left various notes which made her frightened.
Sentencing Bouceiro on Wednesday, Sheriff Fletcher told him: “I don’t think Ms Farnington was in physical danger but the general public finds this crime abhorrent and the court treats it seriously.”
In addition, Bouceiro was given a community payback order for three years.