BESTSELLING writer Janice Galloway has called for a change in the law after her former lover walked free from court despite being found to have acted in a threatening and abusive manner to her.
The author of novels such as The Trick is to Keep Breathing, Foreign Parts and Blood, says she felt "let down" by the system as concert pianist Graeme McNaught was "now free to continue his harassment".
Ms Galloway said that police had been alerted after McNaught had been "turned away" last night from the home she shares with her husband and a friend.
The case has raised concerns from Action Scotland Against Stalking founder Ann Moulds who asked: "Where does justice sit in all this?"
It is estimated police investigated more than 1,000 cases of stalking in the first three years since new stalking laws came into force in 2010, championed by Ms Moulds, who was named public campaigner of the year at The Herald Scottish Politician of the Year Awards in 2010.
McNaught, 54, of Mount Vernon, Glasgow, faced five charges of acting in a threatening and abusive manner and placing Miss Galloway in a state of fear and alarm in a trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court.
Ms Galloway, 58, of Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, broke down in tears in an earlier hearing as she told how she feared being a victim of 'revenge porn' after McNaught said in an email he had naked photos of her while pregnant and planned to show them at an art exhibition.
Concerns over her former partner's mental health had seen the trial halted with an order that a medical examination be carried out on him by a doctor and a psychiatrist.
Sheriff Ray Small conducted an examination of facts before he ruled McNaught had carried out the offences.
On McNaught's return to court yesterday he was told he would not be subject to further punishments despite prosecutors asking for him to put under a court order not to contact Ms Galloway.
Lawyer Desmond Ziolo opposed the non-harassment order saying the three reports agree that McNaught "poses no risk to himself or the public".
Sheriff Small said that three reports "all say the same thing, that there is no need for an order". He said there was an understanding that he keeps in contact with the mental health group he was attending "on a voluntary basis for support" and that if they notice a change in his condition "they can take action themselves".
"The Crown have asked for a non-harassment order but an examination of facts means there is no conviction and I can only make such an order if there is a conviction," he said.
The decision has upset Ms Galloway who said: "I am extremely let down by this present state of affairs. A great many other women must be, too.
"I am extremely dismayed and, given that the police in Scotland are presently attempting to press for greater justice for victims of stalking, shocked that Sheriff Small is left with no legal option to enforce any kind of order, despite his judgment upon the findings that Graeme McNaught did indeed commit the acts of harassment (stalking) with which he was charged. It must be the case that I am not the only woman in this position.
"At the root of this impasse lie two psychiatric reports, commissioned by the court, which directly render any order - medical or legal - possible.
"This in turn, with no reference to evidence or the history of the case, effectively leaves Mr McNaught free to continue his harassment of me, my publisher, my agency, my friends and, most importantly, my family with no way forward.
"Indeed, it has already, a matter of hours after the impasse, already started."
It is understood this has also come in the form of unsolicited emails that she says may well be yet sent to the police.
"It is at the least inappropriate that, at a time when the police struggle to place proper concern regarding harassment and the long-term psychological effects of stalking upon victims before courts - a ground-breaking initiative by Scottish Police - that the psychiatric profession remain in a position to sideline their efforts without appeal."
Ms Galloway added: "After 17 years of disruptive, spiteful and bizarre behaviour, I am left with continuance of established harassment without even the intervention of a medical order as the reasonable decision of health professionals.
"Medically unfit to stand trial yet not being required to accept treatment makes an ill match. Something is badly out of step, and badly outwith the reach of justice.
"I have heard the Lord Advocate intends to look into cases of stalking and internet abuse, especially with regard to so-called 'revenge porn', in future. I hope so."
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