A door-to-door Covid-19 tester has been cleared of stalking one of his clients.
Eric Hepburn was part of a group of helpers who took regular swabs from households during the pandemic as part of a government-run study.
He went on trial at Perth Sheriff Court accused of engaging in a course of conduct that left a 50-year-old Blairgowrie woman in a state of fear or alarm.
The alleged victim claimed she was so scared she was forced to put her house on the market.
“I found myself going into a different kind of lockdown,” she told the court.
It was alleged that between April 1 and June 17, 2021, Hepburn repeatedly attended at her home unannounced and uninvited.
The 62-year-old, from Perth, was accused of pretending there in an official capacity as part of his work.
It was further alleged he went to neighbours’ homes and asked “intrusive” questions about the woman’s daily routine and about the car she drives.
Hepburn walked free from court after the trial against him collapsed.
Solicitor Paul Ralph successfully argued that there was no corroborating evidence to place his client at the alleged victim’s home on the specific dates.
Sheriff Gillian Wade told Hepburn: “On the basis that there is insufficient evidence, you have been acquitted and are free to go.”
Witness claimed she was ‘terrified’
The court heard that the alleged victim volunteered for a government-led Covid-19 survey.
This involved getting swabbed at her home, initially every week and later once a month.
Giving her evidence from behind a screen, she said a man turned up for two pre-arranged appointments in February and March.
The 50-year-old said the same man returned to her home the following month unannounced.
He asked her if she had received a letter about blood sampling.
“It was an isolated incident,” she said. “I didn’t think anything of it.”
She claimed the same man returned again on May 25, again asking about blood tests.
The woman said she felt “uneasy” when he began asking about her holidays and her work.
When she told him she was working at the weekend, the man replied: “You’re like me, you have no life”.
“I just thought that was the rudest thing to say to someone you don’t even know,” said the woman.
Hid in the kitchen
The same man returned on June 4, the witness told the trial.
“I could see him standing outside,” she said.
“I didn’t answer the door, I felt really unnerved.
“I went into the kitchen and sat on the floor where I knew I would not be seen through any windows.”
Asked how she felt by fiscal depute Rebecca Kynaston, the woman replied: “Pretty terrified.”
The woman said she became further alarmed when she spoke to her neighbours.
Asked how her life had been impacted, she said: “I found myself going into a different sort of lockdown.
“Knowing he knew where I lived, I would race to get to my car each time I was going out.
“I couldn’t hang out any items of uniform that could identify where I worked.”
She told the trial: “I have chosen to sell my home of 17 years.
“Whatever happens today, this individual will forever know where I live.”
