A car dealer secretly filmed his wife, recorded her work conversations and deployed a staff member to spy on her for more than four years because he suspected that she was having an affair with his business partner.
Louisa Ennis was unaware until she spotted a device on her wifi router that she realised was a camera belonging to her husband, Scott. She realised live footage of their bedroom was being streamed from a bedside digital alarm clock her husband had given her as a gift. He was also using mobile phone technology to track her movements
His secret stalking campaign ran from January 2015 until August 2019.
Perth sheriff court was told yesterday that Mr Ennis repeatedly sent one of his employees to follow his wife and take photos and videos of her without her knowledge. The court was told that Mr Ennis, who had financial difficulties with his used car business Roundal Group, suspected she was cheating on him with his partner, David Welsh.
Gail Russell, the fiscal depute, said the marriage was failing and Mrs Ennis did start a new relationship with Welsh in 2019, after leaving her husband.
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She said the employee involved in the stalking campaign, Adam Horton, had come forward to admit his role.
Mr Ennis, 50, from Auchterarder, admitted engaging in a course of conduct which caused fear and alarm in various locations across Perth and Kinross. He admitted installing a covert camera and a microphone to secretly watch and listen to his wife’s movements and conversations without her knowledge. He admitted tracking her using iPhone technology, moving items in her garden, and getting his employee to walk past her home to record her with Welsh.
The Ennises married in 2009, but the relationship came under strain from about 2015. In 2017 Mrs Ennis decided the marriage was over and asked her husband to leave the following year.
After Horton contacted Welsh, the microphone was discovered under the desk where Mrs Ennis had worked, Russell said. “Adam Horton apologised and said he was ashamed that he had been instructed by the accused to follow her. He had been instructed to follow them and take photos and videos.”
Sheriff William Wood told Mr Ennis: “Clearly your conduct has been despicable. This course of conduct was over a four-and-a-half-year period. I will get a report and a victim impact statement. Your wife will have an impact on what the court decides, but it won’t be the determining factor.”
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He deferred sentence for social background reports and warned Mr Ennis that he should make arrangements to prepare for a prison sentence.