Decorator with 'unhealthy fixation' on Oban woman stalked her for a year

Press and Journal

14-05-2025

A painter and decorator from Dunbeg has been found guilty of stalking a stranger for a year.
Latvian Andrej Vorobjov, 61, had denied having an 'unhealthy fixation' on his 21-year-old victim and claimed his conduct was just a 'series of coincidences'.
The court heard that between August 1 2023 and August 30 2024, Vorobjov, of MacPherson Way, had engaged in a course of conduct that distressed the woman at her workplace in Oban and at various places around the town and Dunbeg.
A previous hearing at Oban Sheriff Court heard that she would excuse herself from work when Vorobjov came in, and she was conscious that he was ogling her.
The trial concluded on Monday in Oban Sheriff Court.
Vorobjov was accused of 'long staring, looking at the woman in a sexual way for a prolonged period of time', something that the young woman said caused her distress and anxiety.
He was also accused of slowing his vehicle down and staring at her on at least two occasions when he was passing her on the road or at a bus stop.
He went to her place of work for legitimate reasons, but then spent periods staring at the woman.
On one occasion, he was in Wetherspoons when the young woman and her aunt were preparing to leave for a holiday.
He stood and stared at the woman until her aunt told him to 'stop staring' at her niece.
Vorobjov was said to have become flustered and left Wetherspoons when he was called out.
On another day, the young woman walked the cycle path between Dunbeg and Oban early in the morning to get to work.
On her way to the cycle path, she saw Vorobjov's van outside his home.
She walked the three-mile path to Oban, only to find Vorobjov in his van waiting in the car park at Ganavan.
It was something the young woman described as 'creepy' at the earlier hearing.
Vorobjov gave evidence through a translator, saying that he did not know the young woman.
He claimed he did not even know her name. He also claimed the complainer and her aunt had 'made things up'.
He said he was at the woman's workplace because it was the cheapest coffee in Oban, and he was working nearby to renovate two new shops in the former M&Co.
He said he did not recognise the woman.
When asked about being in Ganavan car park when the woman reached the end of the cycle path, he said he saw a 'woman figure' but claimed he did not know who she was.
He said he had no recollection of the woman's aunt speaking to him in Wetherspoons.
Speaking about another encounter with the woman and her dad in Tesco, he told the court he had assumed the man was her boyfriend and 'too old' for her.
He said: 'Yes, I saw her in Tesco, although I thought she was with a boyfriend, but it was her dad.
'I only remember thinking 'why does she have such an old boyfriend'.'
Fiscal depute Raeesa Ahmed said: 'Is it fair to say you were very interested in the guy she was with?'
Vorobjov replied: 'I didn't say anything. I thought he was possibly a bit too old for her. I was a bit surprised.'
He later said: 'I never had a motivation and intention to follow her. I feel very bad, I feel as if I am hanging in the air.
'I feel like this has been against me.'
Defence agent Jane MacNiven argued that it was a coincidence that Vorobjov found himself in the same place as the woman at Ganavan car park.
The court heard that Vorobjov admitted parking his car at Ganavan but said he was 'reaching for his coffee' when he saw the complainer, saying 'Oban is a small town'.
She argued that when Vorobjov slowed down or stopped near the complainer and her aunt while they were walking the road to the new development at Dunbeg, it was because of speed bumps in the road.
She said: 'These were a series of coincidences – he accepts that he looked at her.'
Sheriff Euan Cameron said he found the complainer and her aunt 'credible and reliable', while in contrast, he found that Vorobjov did not answer questions directly and was evasive.
He said: 'There is another important factor, and it is this: the totality of the other evidence points towards you having a thoroughly unhealthy fixation on the complainer by this point.
'I don't accept your evidence. It didn't ring true.'
However, Sheriff Cameron did not accept the Crown's case that the behaviour was repeated on each occasion, and deleted this from the charge.
He said: 'Given the serious nature [of the offences], I am calling for reports – a criminal justice social work report and a restriction of liberty report.'
Bail conditions are continued, and the consideration of a non-harassment order will be considered when the case next calls on June 11 at 10am.