A Fife sex attacker whose victim had to be fitted with a heart monitor to handle panic attacks has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
The woman has daily panic attacks 30 months after being sexually assaulted by Glenrothes man Lee Todd in June 2019.
By video link, she told his trial that while she was in her late teens, Todd invited her to his home then blocked her from leaving and abused her.
Todd, 32, was found guilty of sexually assaulting the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 240 hours of unpaid work and placed made subject to registration for five years.
Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith also imposed a non-harassment order for a year.
The sheriff said: “You’ve been given a chance to avoid the jail. Take it.”
He added: “I do appreciate there is a stigma attached to being on the register but that’s outwith my control.”
The trial
The trial heard Todd’s victim had been invited to his home to see his new car.
Todd told her if he had taken her out in the vehicle, he would want to have sex with her, at which point she tried to leave.
However, Todd blocked her and attempted to unzip her hoodie.
Giving evidence by video link at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, the woman said: “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.”
The woman said he touched her private parts above her clothing for about 30 seconds.
In order to escape, she lied to him about being needed elsewhere.
Lasting effect
Todd’s victim 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.
Her mother revealed the woman had been fitted with an electro-cardiology monitor, which monitors her heart rate 24 hours a day.
Todd said he had only slapped the girl’s buttocks twice.
