Peter Noreiko, the former chairman of an anti-stalking charity Action Against Stalking, has admitted stalking his ex-wife. He will be sentenced in November.
The former chairman of an anti-stalking charity has admitted stalking his ex-wife and now faces charges under the law the group helped introduce.
Peter Noreiko, 67, of Troon in Ayshire, pleaded guilty to stalking Elaine Ferrie, 54, over a period of nine months including bombarding her with texts and email and driving behind her vehicle while sounding his car horn and flashing his lights
Ayr Sheriff Court heard how Noreiko, who was the chairman of Action Against Stalking, a charity set up to help the victims of stalking, for around six months, pleaded guilty to causing his ex-wife fear or alarm between 25 October 2015 and 25 July 2016.
Noreiko, it was also reported, repeatedly drove past his ex-wife's home, on one occasion made an uninvited visit to her home and placed his foot in the door to stop her from closing it, turned up ar her work and made contact with her family, her friends and colleagues in a bid to get information about her.
There wasn’t anything to suggest or to say that this would ever happen
A retired local businessman and former president of Troon Rotary Club, he was charged under Section 39 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.
The law was introduced following a campaign led by Ann Moulds, the chief executive of Action Against Stalking, to have a specific stalking offence created in Scotland.
Moulds, herself a victim of stalking, told TFN that Noreiko resigned from his position at Action Against Stalking in February after the charity became aware of the situation.
There was no way that the charity could have foreseen the turn of events when appointing Noreiko she said.
“We have a very strict vetting procedure in place.
“There is an application form, there are interviews, we have 10 trustees on a very high calibre board and we ask for referees as well. We tick all the boxes where possible.
“Peter was a successful businessman, was assistant district governor of the rotary club, he was an ex-president, he has had a credible position in life."
Moulds said Noreiko simply couldn't handle it when Elaine left him.
"You could never have seen that," she continued. "There wasn’t anything to suggest or to say that this would ever happen.
“My understanding is that he has never been in trouble before. It is a tragedy because he has damaged his life and the victim has been damaged in some way as a result of all this.”
Following the revelation, Action Against Stalking supported Elaine until she felt able to report her ex-husband a few months later in July.
Now the ordeal is over, Elaine has decided to speak publicly about her ordeal in a bid to help other victims. Speaking in a local newspaper, she said: “I want my voice to be heard. My advice to anyone who is being stalked is – don’t keep it to yourself.
"You have not done anything wrong – being stalked is not your fault.
"I am delighted at the outcome, but sad it had to come to this.
“Until I had been the victim of stalking myself, I didn’t fully appreciate just what this crime really meant, nor did I understand what it’s really like to be a victim of persistent and unwanted attention.
“It impacted on every aspect of my life. It has only been the wonderful support I received that has helped me cope.”
Noreiko is due to be sentenced in November.
