A sex attacker who preyed on a young woman as she walked home alone in Perth has been jailed for more than two years.
Sinister stalker Barrie Cameron forced himself on his victim after tailing her down a city centre street, telling her “I really fancy you” and saying: “I’ll give you my phone if you think I’m weird”.
Perth Sheriff Court heard 45-year-old Cameron sexually assaulted a second woman he met at a supermarket.
The terrified victim was forced to flee his flat, abandoning her groceries, after he kissed and fondled her without her consent.
Cameron, who has convictions for stalking, theft and racially-aggravated conduct, admitted sexually assaulting the two women – both in their 20s – in January and July 2021.
He was jailed and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
‘Extremely terrifying’ encounter
Sheriff David Hall told him: “These were serious incidents.
“Both were committed when you were on a community payback order for another sexual offence.”
The sheriff noted his “bad criminal record” and a “directly analogous” conviction from 2020, when he stalked and sexually assaulted a woman who had tried to support him during lockdown.
The sheriff said: “You approached a woman you did not know in the hours of darkness and subjected her to a sexual assault that must have been extremely frightening.
“And in the second incident, you behaved in a manner that was unacceptable.
“You assaulted her and kept on assaulting her.
“There is no alternative to a custodial sentence.”
Cameron was jailed for 15 months for the first offence and 10 months for the second.
Denied assault to social workers
Solicitor Pauline Cullerton, defending, had urged the court to consider a community sentence.
She said: “I was a bit concerned when I read Mr Cameron’s social work report and saw that he denied that he had behaved the way he did in relation to the first charge.
“When I discussed it with him this morning, he said that when he spoke to social workers he was ‘all over the place’ and he now accepts full responsibility for the way he behaved.”
Ms Cullerton added: “He has accepted and realises that it is not acceptable to touch a lady like this. He now knows better.”
She said her client was addressing issues with alcohol misuse and was dealing with things that had happened in his childhood.
Gestured to victim from window
The court previously heard Cameron targeted his first victim in a courtyard outside his home in South William Street.
The woman, who did not know Cameron, was walking to her flat after a night out with friends.
Cameron, who appeared to be drunk, started chatting to her and followed her along the street.
He continued to pursue her, even when she began walking faster in an effort to get away from him.
Cameron told her: “I really fancy you,” and said she had a “unique walk”.
After she declined to visit his flat, he pulled her close and attempted to kiss her on the lips.
The woman reported the incident to police a few weeks later, after she saw Cameron gesturing at her and smiling from the window of his home.
Forced to flee flat
Cameron approached his second victim at a supermarket and persuaded her to come to his flat.
He repeatedly kissed her without consent and touched her leg.
Fiscal depute Lora Apostolova said he also behaved erratically, by picking up the TV, shaking it and threatening to jump out a window.
The woman faked a phone call and went outside, leaving her shopping behind.
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