A Dundee taxi driver, who was commended by a city sheriff for reporting a suspicious man following a teenage girl, said he was only acting as he hoped others would in the same situation.
Kevin Neil (40), who works for Dundee firm Tele Taxis, was praised yesterday for telling police that he had spotted a man in the city centre pursuing a 19-year-old student in the early hours of the morning.
Michael Mackinnon (23), of Polepark Road, had denied that on February 18 in South Ward Road and Marketgait West he breached the peace by following the woman, placing her in a state of fear and alarm.
He was found guilty after trial and was placed on the sex offenders register for five years. Sentence was deferred until October 20.
The victim was going to work at the Olympia Leisure Centre at 5.40am, walking along well-lit streets, when she noticed she was being followed.
Mr Neil, who was with taxi firm 203020 at the time, was nearing the end of his shift when he noticed Mackinnon trailing the girl.
He said, "I was working night shift and I was sitting outside Fat Sam's in South Ward Road speaking to another taxi driver.
"A girl walked past and this guy sort of appeared about 20ft behind her and starting speeding up. They crossed the road and she kept looking behind her and tried to walk faster but the faster she walked, he kept up the same distance."
He added, "I thought that something was just wrong with it — it didn't look right."
Mr Neil, of Charleston, monitored the pair of them from his taxi and saw the man following her round a number of city centre streets and up the Nethergate.
After seeing the woman run off, Mr Neil alerted nearby police officers to his suspicions about the man.
Mackinnon, who said he was a bar supervisor in Brechin, said he had been to various pubs that evening, to the casino in the Marketgait and then to Private Eyes Gentleman's Club.
He refuted the suggestion that the sight of "bikini-clad women" had made him sexually aroused.
He had said that he had shouted at the girl because he only wanted to ask her if Tesco Riverside was open 24 hours a day.
In court yesterday, Sheriff Tom Hughes said Mr Neil should be commended for his actions, as without his intervention the matter might never have come to the attention of the court.
Mr Neil, who had only been a taxi driver for three months at the time, said he was simply acting on instinct.
He said, "He was just watching her and it didn't feel right. I have a stepdaughter of a similar age and I would like to think that somebody out there would look out for her in that kind of situation."
He added, "I spoke to the police and asked them to keep an eye on him and three hours later they were at my door taking down what I had seen and before I knew it I was cited for court."
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee ... -neil.html
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