Dismay of mother as paedophile gets ‘slap on the wrist’

The mother of a schoolgirl stalked by a convicted paedophile fears he could strike again after he walked out of court with a “slap on the wrist”.

Philip Robertson was snared by police after he left tell-tale footprints in the snow near the youngster’s Wendy house.

The 61-year-old, who previously served time in a Bulgarian jail for exposing himself to three nine-yearolds, repeatedly lurked around the youngster’s home, in Angus, and stared into her bedroom window.

Despite previously being warned he could face jail, Robertson was sentenced to a three-year supervision order, and told to attend a rehabilitation programme for sex offenders.

Following the sentencing hearing at Forfar Sheriff Court, the mother of the child – who cannot be named for legal reasons – said: “My daughter will be asking what happened at court and now I’ve got nothing positive to tell her.

“It just seems like he’s been given a slap on the wrist. The case has been dragging on for a long time now, and was put off again and again by the court and at the end of the day, it just feels like justice hasn’t been served.”

She said: “I know he’s moved away from the area but I’ve been told he’s doing odd jobs for people.

“Just the thought of him going into people’s homes, and they don’t know who he is.

“I worry that he could pop up again. I don’t think this is the from him.”

Robertson’s presence had alarmed locals, who mounted a poster campaign to boot him out.

Robertson, who also previously lived in Aberdeen but has now moved to Park Road, Brechin, admitted a single charge of stalking the schoolgirl between October 1 2019 and January 29 last year.

He pled guilty to causing the girl and her father fear and alarm by repeatedly being outside their home, entering their garden and loitering there.

He also repeatedly approached the girl and attempted to engage her in conversation.

Sheriff Gillian Martinbrown told him the supervision order was a last we’ll hear direct alternative custodial sentence.

Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson said the girl’s father spotted footprints in the snow. “They led to the Wendy House, from where he would have been able to observe the child’s bedroom.”

Police took moulds of the footprints, which proved a match for Robertson.

Residents welcomed Robertson into the community before they became away of his sinister past.

Robertson served time in a Bulgarian prison after being convicted of groping and kissing children aged 10 and 12 at the Sunny Beach resort in 2017. He was made subject of a sexual offences prevention order and monitored by the authorities. to a

SENTENCED: Robertson was given a three-year supervision order, and told to attend a rehabilitation programme.