A Dundee woman says she is living in fear after the man who offered to buy her child escaped a jail sentence.
Her former partner, who stalked her and offered to buy one of their children for £35,000, was sentenced to a two-year supervision order by Sheriff Alistair Duff at the city’s sheriff court on Thursday.
He was also ordered to take part in a domestic abuse group work programme and was banned from contacting her or their two children.
However, the woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, hit out at the sentence handed down by the sheriff.
“It’s a joke,” she said. “The courts are totally wrong. They have let me down.”
On one occasion she said she was alerted to the man loitering around her home by her neighbour.
She said: “The neighbour across the way said there’s been a man in the garden three to four days. He contacted the police because he knew I was by myself.
“Anytime I went out of my house he (the ex-partner) would appear from nowhere. I’m thinking of moving out of Dundee.”
She said knowing her ex-partner is free, albeit subject to a supervision order, has left her fearing for her safety.
“I don’t feel safe,” she said. “I’m totally stressed to the eyeballs. I’m down to six stone. I’ve moved house twice because of him. I can’t relax. I don’t leave my kids.
“To (try to) buy your child is sick. I’m scared to have another relationship.”
The woman said he sent her text messages saying he hoped she died of cancer like her mum and one chilling one which said if he couldn’t have her no one else would.
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”He was just being really vicious and cruel,” she said. ”It’s like I’ve been living in a sentence. Like I’m the person who’s done something and he’s the victim. I don’t trust anybody. I hardly get out.”
The court heard the man targeted her during a six-week period at locations across Dundee last year. He admitted engaging in a course of conduct which caused the woman fear and alarm on January 4 2011 and between August 1 and September 11 2011.
He admitted loitering around the woman’s address, repeatedly attending her address and repeatedly verbally abusing her. The man also admitted repeatedly following her, delivering gifts, repeatedly requesting to meet her and their children, sending her text messages and sending a text in which he offered to buy a child for a large sum of money.
The man’s solicitor, Ross Bennett, told the court his client had no previous convictions and had a permanent visa allowing him to stay in the UK.
Mr Bennett said that the man’s offer to buy the child for £35,000 in a text message had not been made with ”any degree of seriousness”.
He said: ”There was never any intention of him returning to his home country. He suspected the woman was seeing other men.
”Some of the texts were of an endearing nature, but others were on the abusive side. He had been led to believe there could be a reconciliation.”
But Sheriff Duff said: ”That doesn’t mean he can engage in criminal behaviour.”
Mr Bennett told the court there had been no contact between the couple since September.
Sheriff Duff told the man: ”I fully accept that there was a time when you seemed to have had a normal relationship of friends or ex-partners. But the gravity of this crime justifies me in considering custody or an alternative to custody.”
Sheriff Duff told the man he would have to take part in a domestic abuse group work programme.
He said: ”In addition you will have no contact with this woman or the two children other than through a solicitor or by order of a court.”
His former partner has now vowed to fight the sentence.
She said: ”It’s basically telling every woman out there what’s the point in reporting stalking? The procurator fiscal has let me down. I’m definitely appealing this.
”I’m just really upset with the justice system. If you do the crime you’ve got to get action. I’m going to my MP and I’m going to fight what happened today.
”I’m not prepared to put my life on hold. Why should I be scared the rest of my life?”