Victims of a Kilsyth sex offender, Steven Puttock, who evaded incarceration after assaulting five women, have expressed their terror.
Steven Puttock infiltrated the beds of two victims and perpetrated assaults while they were asleep during a 14-month span of egregious sexual offences.
However, last week a sheriff informed the 25-year-old from Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire, that incarceration would not benefit him or his victims.
Steven Puttock was instead sentenced to a “top-end community disposal” and ordered to pay each of the women £500 compensation.
One victim, who was assaulted in her own home after Steven Puttock crept into her bed, told the Record: “We’re the victims, not him.
“To pay us £500 for what he has done to us all doesn’t cut it.
“He’s free to get on with his life but we’re going to be affected by this for the rest of ours.”
The electrician admitted assaulting the five women at houses in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth between January 2020 and March the following year, with one victim being targeted on three occasions and another twice.
Airdire Sheriff Court heard they were all considered friends and “like family” to him.
Steven Puttock had a girlfriend at the time and apologised via text and Facebook messages to two of the women, using exactly the same words to both.
Sheriff Joseph Hughes said the pervert told a psychologist his offending “would likely have escalated to a more serious level” if he had continued down the same path.
He was assessed as at a medium risk of re-offending, but the sheriff told the first offender: “A custodial sentence will not in itself assist you in addressing your offending.
“Sentencing you to a modest period in prison will not help either the victims or society at large.”
Steven Puttock was sentenced to three years of supervision, 300 hours unpaid work and a 12-month electronic tagging order .
Five-year non-harassment orders were made for each victim and his name will be on the sex offenders’ register for the same period.
One victim, who was groped in her bed in January 2020, said: “He thought he could randomly sneak into other people’s beds and cause this massive impact on their lives and he gets community service?
“I moved house after this. I kept having nightmares thinking people were in my room.
“Why is he allowed to be in the community when he is a danger to the community?
“Litter picking and painting fences? How is that going to stop him from reoffending?
“I don’t see how he’s not going to be a danger to women after this? I don’t care about his money.”
Another victim told how Steven Puttock was like “a brother” to her when he crept into her bed and put his hands inside her clothing in November 2020.
She said: “He knew exactly what he was doing and his intentions.
“It happened so quickly. The next day I was distraught. I knew if I told my mum and dad they would erupt.”
The victim said she didn’t go to police until a year later because she was worried about the impact on her family.
She said: “I could barely cope. I would check car parks to make sure his car wasn’t there.
“He then messaged me and said he was sorry for everything he had done.
“This sentence makes us think ‘is that it?’ You would have expected more for five victims.
“I only hope this will change how he treats women in the future because I don’t want anyone else to go through this.”
A third victim told how brazen Puttock put his hand down her trousers on two occasions in a room full of her family and friends in October 2020.
She said: “It made me feel sick to the pit of my stomach. He’s just a horrible, horrible human. I can’t explain the anger.
“He thought he got away with it the first time so could do it again.”
Defence agent Ross Brown said Steven Puttock had been abusing alcohol and cocaine at the time of the offences.
He said Steven Puttock was in “highly-skilled employment” and had found a new relationship, so it is all ok.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.