Dundee man jailed for stalking and hospital sex assaults

DUNDEE MAN JAILED FOR STALKING AND HOSPITAL SEX ASSAULTS

Steven Saunders, a 60-year-old resident of Dundee, engaged in a series of troubling and unlawful acts, including stalking an employee of the local authority and sexually assaulting patients within psychiatric hospital wards.

His stalking began in June 2022 after he encountered a housing officer he was acquainted with through his work.

Over the following months, Saunders displayed increasingly obsessive conduct by visiting her residence unannounced, knocking on her window at early morning hours, and leaving messages.

Despite being instructed to cease, he persisted in contacting her, even being dropped off at her home by a van driver.

His disturbing behavior escalated in October 2022 when he committed a number of sexual assaults on female patients at Murray Royal and Carseview hospitals, which involved exposing himself and forcibly touching victims.

Saunders confessed to stalking the housing officer and two counts of sexual assault, with his sentencing postponed to await additional reports.

He was ultimately sentenced to three years of supervision and placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite time, along with a court order requiring him to engage in mental health treatment.

The sheriff highlighted the critical role of mental health intervention, noting Saunders' mental health problems as a key aspect of his offending.