A Fife woman has had a heart monitor fitted to cope with daily panic attacks she still suffers 30 months after being sexually assaulted.
Glenrothes man Lee Todd was convicted of sexually assaulting the teenager.
A trial before Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith heard Todd’s victim was only 18 at the time of the attack.
The woman had been invited to Todd’s home in Laggan Crescent while his parents were out on June 20, 2019, to see his new Subaru.
Her mother told the court of the devastating impact the attack has had on her daughter.
She said she told her Todd had remarked if he had taken her out in the car, he would want to “sh*g her.”
At this point, the teenager tried to leave but Todd, 32, slapped her on the buttocks.
He then placed his foot and one hand on the inside of the front door to stop her leaving.
The woman wriggled away but Todd blocked her and attempted to unzip her hoodie.
Attack at family home
Giving evidence by video link at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, the woman said: “I tried to walk away.
“I walked to the front door. Lee was right behind me.
“I opened it just a little bit but he stopped me opening it with his foot and his hand.
“I took a step back and I was up against a cupboard door.
“He tried to take my jumper off – it was a zipped hoodie – by trying to unzip it with both hands.
“He didn’t manage. I had my hand up on my jumper, holding it.
“It was when I tried to leave he said something.
“He started rubbing me down below at the top of my jeans.
“His other hand was up against the door behind me.”
The woman said he touched her private parts above her clothing for about 30 seconds and described him as being “quite rough.”
Desperate bid to escape
In order to escape, she lied to him about being needed elsewhere.
“I told him I had to get (someone) and that I would come back and see him later.
“It was the only way he would let me out.
“He started laughing and he opened the door.
“He called me a sh*tebag.”
The teenager told her mum the following night.
ECG monitor fitted
She said her mental wellbeing has deteriorated so significantly she has had to take months at a time off work and has suffered daily panic attacks.
She added: “I’ve not been able to leave the house myself.”
Her mother revealed she had been fitted with an electro-cardiology monitor, which monitors her heart rate 24 hours a day.
She said: “My daughter’s not the same person.
“She doesn’t go out. She’s on so much medication.
“She’s going to see a psychiatrist. She’s lost a lot of weight.”
The woman’s mother told Sheriff Niven-Smith her daughter had been an anxious person beforehand but since the attack, that had increased “tenfold.”
‘Difficulty understanding boundaries’
Todd said he had only slapped the girl’s buttocks twice.
In a police interview, when asked why, at one point, he asked for a kiss, he replied: “I don’t know.”
Sheriff Niven-Smith convicted Todd of sexually assaulting the woman.
Noting Todd was convicted in 2009 of a domestic assault, which left his victim injured, the sheriff said: “There is some difficulty in your life in understanding the proper boundaries of relationships between males and females.”
The sheriff deferred sentencing until March 2 for reports.
He will decide whether a non-harassment order will be imposed.
Todd has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
He was released on bail.
