A man ignored a ban on contacting his ex, telling her: “See you in court, you liar.”
Nigel Radcliffe pleaded guilty to breaching the non-molestation order made to protect his former partner.
And the 53-year-old was lucky to avoid jail when a district judge heard that it was the fifth time that he had breached a similar order against him.
Kirklees Magistrates’ Court was told that Radcliffe had been in a casual relationship with the victim but she ended this following an incident of aggression in her home. Prosecutor Jill Seddon said that she then sought a non-molestation order against Radcliffe, banning him from contacting her or going to her flat in Batley.
However soon after the order was made, Radcliffe turned up at her home on his bike. He rang on the buzzer to her flat but she ignored him.
She later received two texts from him, one stating: “See you in court, you liar.”
Andy Day, mitigating, explained that there had been some confusion on his client’s behalf as to when the court order started.
He said that Radcliffe had gone to his ex’s home to pick up his belongings and that one of the texts was sent to her by mistake as it was meant for his mother.
District Judge Adrian Lower sentenced Radcliffe, of Gelderd Road in Birstall, to eight weeks in custody suspended for two years.
He told him that the offence was made more serious by the fact that he had breached similar orders five times in the last year.
Judge Lower said: “This has led me to the conclusion that you are a man who does not have any regard for what the court says and the orders imposed against you.”
He ordered Radcliffe to pay £115 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.
