Stalker who followed woman is ordered to keep his distance for 20 years

Mark Armstrong: The 40-year-old stalker his victim for three months.

A man who repeatedly followed a woman and bombarded her with nuisance phone calls has been banned from approaching her for 20 years.

Mark Armstrong, 40, stalked his victim at various addresses in Edinburgh between October 2011 and December 2011.

He was not romantically involved with her but pursued her in Maderia Street, St Andrews Square and Leith Walk. He turned up at her workplace and made telephone calls in which he threatened violence.

On Wednesday, he was jailed for two years and six months by Sheriff Neil Mackinnon. He will placed under supervision for a year on his release.

Armstrong, from Leith, Edinburgh, was convicted at an earlier hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

He is one of the first people in Scotland to be convicted under new anti-stalking laws.

Defence solicitor advocate Jim Stephenson said his client had been abusing steroids during the time of the stalking.

Mr Stephenson said: "He accepts he was abusing steroids at the time of the offences. He obtained these steroids from the internet and he was injecting them once a week. He accepts that this made him more aggressive."

After the sentencing, Armstrong’s victim said she was "relieved" the case was over.

She said: “I am relieved that the legal case is now concluded and pleased with the outcome and that justice has finally been done.

"The support available to me as a victim of this crime was amazing. From when the accused appeared in court and all throughout the process I knew the Victim Information and Advice Officer was there for me to explain the process, what was happening with the case and about support available to me.

“The legal process was something new to me, but I was able to come in and have face to face meetings and pick up the phone anytime and know that support was there for me. Although coming to court was a daunting experience again support was available for me."

Lesley Thomson QC, the Solicitor General, said: "Stalking can have a devastating and lasting impact on the lives of victims. Scotland's prosecutors are dedicated to bringing to justice all those who, like Mark Armstrong, pursue a campaign of stalking and harassment.

"Though many of his actions, if taken in isolation, could perhaps appear innocuous, it was his persistent course of conduct that caused fear and alarm to his victim and constituted the statutory offence of stalking.

"We would encourage anybody who is the subject of this type of behaviour to have no hesitation in reporting what is happening to the police and to be reassured that police and prosecutors take such offences extremely seriously."

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