A BEST-SELLING Scottish author has told a court her ex-lover would intentionally try to sexually humiliate her.

 

Janice Galloway, 59, said Graeme McNaught would contact her despite being told not to and would go out of his way to intimidate her.

Ms Galloway and McNaught, of Mount Vernon, Glasgow, met in 1990 and had a six year on-off relationship during which they had a son.

McNaught, 55, a concert pianist, is on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court and is accused of leaving a letter and having a parcel delivered to Miss Galloway's home in Uddingston, Lanarkshire.

He denies repeatedly going to her solicitor's office and asking for her to be contacted. He also denies repeatedly emailing her agent and husband and breaching bail conditions.

He has lodged a special defence that he was not criminally responsible for the alleged incidents of October last year because he was suffering a mental health condition.

Giving evidence from behind protective screens, Ms Galloway told a jury she had called in police after McNaught made contact with her in breach of a court order in October last year.

She added: "At about 7pm I heard the back door bell ringing and was absolutely sure it would be Graeme.

"Jonathan went to check but told me to stay where I was and he went to the door and saw it was Graeme.

"Jonathan came back very agitated after being outside and he said there was a parcel of some kind in the house from him but I didn't see it.

"I haven't opened anything from him for a number years.

"Almost everything that is sent, the purpose behind it is to destabilise, intimidate and sometimes to sexually humiliate.

"We had been going to a lot of trouble to stop any communications from him and this felt like the return of business as usual now the bail conditions did not apply.

"It made me feel terribly awful.

"We called the police came round and I went into full hostess mode, offering them cups of tea which was totally inappropriate but I eventually managed to give them some version of the story."

She added: "Any or all contact from Graeme was poisonous and had a damaging intention behind it, I wanted nothing to do with him.

"I had not spoke to him face to face for a number of years, I had responded to mails from him until it seemed unwise.

"It was difficult to find a sentiment other than 'stay away from me'.

"I told him that if he ever saw me in public not to approach me because things would normally go badly."

Miss Galloway also told the court she had received an email invitation from McNaught to join the networking website LinkedIn.

She said: "I was extremely distressed by this email and I immediately told my lawyer and my husband.

"I also notified the domestic abuse unit at the police because they had been specific to me about getting in touch with them if there was any contact at all.

"He was not supposed to be in touch so that was his way of saying I'm still here and in coming back.

"It was a gesture that no matter what I did he was still coming back."

Miss Galloway's husband, opera singer Jonathan May, 53, told the court he saw McNaught post a letter through the door of his home.

He said: "The outside security light was on and I could see a letter being pushed through the letterbox and could see Graeme McNaught doing it.

"My guts went when I saw this and I went to get my phone to take a picture.

"I was upset, frustrated and worried, he had no reason to be there."

The trial before Sheriff Marie Smart continues.