A Perth man accused of secretly filming a woman in a shower and then threatening to release the recording online has had his trial delayed.
Robert Pawlicki, of St Catherine’s Square, denies he made a video of the complainer without her knowledge at a house in the city’s Newhouse Road in September 2019.
The 51-year-old is alleged to have told her he was going to put an “intimate” recording on the internet.
Pawlicki is further accused of acting in a threatening or abusive manner, repeatedly swearing and uttering threats towards the woman.
He denied all three charges when he attended Perth Sheriff Court.
Fiscal depute Stewart Hamilton asked for the hearing to be adjourned because a key witness was unavailable.
Solicitor John McLaughlin opposed the motion, pointing out that the case dated back nearly three years.
“It’s clearly a matter for the court to weigh the balance between the interests of the accused and the interests of the court,” he said.
“Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Sheriff Francis Gill allowed the prosecutor’s motion and adjourned the trial until July 21.
Shouted at sheep
A topless man peed on a child and “staggered onto the A9 roadway, forcing vehicles to take evasive action to avoid hitting him, and whilst topless, shouted at sheep there”. Thomas Degnan from Glasgow appeared at Perth Sheriff Court but sentence was deferred.
Pensioner cleared
A Blairgowrie pensioner who answered his door to a dogwalker naked from the waist down has been cleared of criminal conduct.
Retired businessman James Bowman went on trial at Perth Sheriff Court, accused of intentionally exposing his genitals to another man without his consent – a breach of the Sexual Offences Act.
The 76-year-old was reported to police by the company boss after the worker opened the door of his Ashgrove Court flat to the man wearing “just a T-shirt”.
The witness told the trial he went to pick up Mr Bowman’s dog Toby in early March 2020.
“I think he was expecting someone else,” he said. “I think he was as shocked as I was.
“I didn’t know what to do. I just took the dog and went.”
He said he returned later and Mr Bowman told him he had spilt a cup of tea on himself.
The dogwalker told the court: “He said he was disappointed that I wasn’t a young beautiful woman.”
Asked why she decided to report the incident, the dog walking firm boss told the trial: “If I feel there is a risk to my team, I will make a complaint to police.”
Mr Bowman said the dogwalker was mistaken about what happened.
He said he had been washing his kitchen floor when he tipped a bucket of water over his lower half.
He said: “I went to the bathroom to remove my trousers and underpants.”
Indicating the top he was wearing in the dock, he said: “I was wearing this shirt. It’s quite long and goes beyond my private parts.
“I don’t have a T-shirt. I haven’t had a T-shirt for 50 or 60 years.”
Mr Bowman said he only open his door by six inches and handed his keys to the dogwalker.
He denied making the “young beautiful woman” comment.
Sheriff Francis Gill ruled the case against Mr Bowman was not proven.
Find My thief
A Fife thief was traced by police using the Find My app on the iPhone he had just stolen from a taxi driver. Darren Davies took the phone and the driver’s bags of takings after a journey from Kirkcaldy railway station in October.
Theft and hammer
A Glenrothes man has admitted stealing from a Fife store while in possession of a hammer.
Steven Dear pled guilty to taking alcohol from Scotmid on the town’s Laxford Road on April 29.
He further admitted to being in possession of an offensive weapon.
A plea of not guilty was accepted to a charge of threatening two store employees.
Sentencing of the 28-year-old, of Ashford Drive, was deferred for reports
Bus driver death admission
Kirkcaldy bus driver Michael Gillespie has admitted causing the death through careless driving of Fife pensioner Elizabeth Colville, 82.
Gillespie changed his plea on the second day of his trial at Glasgow High Court and admitted causing his passenger’s death by braking “violently” on the wrong side of the road in Freuchie.
Miss Colville was thrown from her seat and suffered head and back injuries, dying three days later in hospital.
Gillespie will be sentenced next month.
The full caseload of the Dundee Crime and Courts Team can be found here.
