Jealous businessman jailed for spying on wife

A jealous businessman who spied on his wife during a fouryear stalking campaign was jailed for 16 months at Perth Sheriff Court this week.

Car dealer Scott Ennis also had a nine-month Non-Harassment Order imposed after William Wood condemned his actions as “despicable”.

The court heard that the 50-yearold, who ran the Roundal Group at Tullibardine, near Auchterarder, suspected his wife was having an affair with his one-time partner and installed a secret camera in the marital bedroom, as well as setting up a covert listening device underneath her desk at work.

He also used mobile phone technology to track her movements and recruited one of his employees to report on her movements.

But Louisa Ennis, who was a bookkeeper in the garage business at the time, discovered the camera which had been hidden in a clock, given to her by her husband as a gift on Valentine’s Day.

Ennis, of Kemp Court, The Stables, Perth, admitted that between January 1, 2015, and August 2, 2019, at various properties in the Auchterarder area, he engaged in a course of conduct which caused his wife “fear or alarm” by installing the covert devices without her knowledge.

The court was told that the accused felt regret, remorse and shame at his actions.

Sheriff Wood had called for a victim impact statement before passing sentence. Mrs Ennis suffered considerable distress and subsequently needed counselling.

The court was told previously that the couple had started seeing each other in 2005 and were married four years later.

But he became suspicious she was cheating on him with his then business partner.

They later began a relationship in 2019 but that was after Mrs Ennis left her husband when she discovered she had been under surveillance.

Depute fiscal Gail Russell explained that the accused gave his wife a digital alarm clock on February 14, 2018.

They decided to separate in May 2018, and she went to live in another property, again in Auchterarder.

But he helped her move in - and again he set up the digital clock on her bedside table. When she discovered the hidden camera, she confronted her husband.

At the end of January 2019, the accused told garage employee Adam Horton that he had “suspicions” that his wife was in a relationship and that he wanted some “closure”.

Horton subsequently recorded and photographed them, followed her and tracked her movements through social media. But Horton became “ashamed” and confessed.

Mrs Russell said it was accepted the accused’s actions with the camera were “borne of jealousy and suspicion .... as opposed to being voyeuristic.”