Creepy Wakefield dad stalked daughter's friend leaving her anxious and paranoid
A dad who developed a crush on his daughter’s friend and would follow her to work has avoided being locked up.
Leeds Crown Court that Nigel Scott developed an infatuation with the young woman that he had known since she was a child.
The 62-year-old joiner admitted a charge of stalking that caused serious alarm or distress.
The court heard that the victim had been a family friend for 20 years and she had even described herself as being “like a third daughter” in their family.
In September 2023 she had been invited to Scott’s 60th birthday party where she gave him a card and a gift.
Later in the evening she had used the toilet and found Scott outside the door waiting for her. He told her that he had even kept the card she bought him for his 50th.
He later hugged her and she began to feel uncomfortable around him.
Just two weeks later the victim happened to staying at the same Greek holiday resort as Scott and his wife, and they agreed to meet for drinks.
The young woman later said Scott, of Park Drive, Wakefield, was “acting oddly” and was winking at her when his wife was not looking. He tried to pass her a note but she did not read it.
After arriving back home, he then put a hand-delivered note through her door, saying he could not stop thinking about her, wanted to give her a “long lingering kiss” and asked to meet him.
She was left shocked and could “not understand where he was coming from”, prosecutor Deborah Smithies told the court.
Concerned, she set up her phone recording the outside of her home after Scott said he would be walking past the next day if she wanted to talk.
It captured him passing by and glancing towards her home.
In October 2023, he followed her to her place of work at a children’s nursery, but was asked to leave by another member of staff.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said she was left constantly worried that he was following her and she would park in different places at work.
Ms Smithies said it had “deeply affected her life” and was left “hyper aware”. She said he still grins and waves at her when their paths cross.
Mitigating, Jane Brady said his last conviction was from 1985 so he was “effectively of good character”.
She said he admitted his guilt at the first opportunity, took full responsibility and had genuine remorse.
She added: “He never meant to cause her any fear of distress and it was not malicious. It was born out of genuine misguided affection.”
The judge, Recorder Tom Little KC, gave Scott a 15-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months.
He was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation days with probation.
He was ordered to pay the victim £2,000 in compensation and he was handed an indefinite-length restraining order to keep him away from the victim.