Leeds man ignored court orders and harassed ex-partner with threatening Facebook messages
He was blocked on all forms of social media following the break up
A Leeds man who harassed his former partner has escaped jail - despite ignoring previous court orders to stay away her.
Jamie Stogdale was handed a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to three breaches of a non-molestation order against his ex-partner.
Prosecutor Ciara Church told the court how the 36-year-old was blocked on all forms of social media following the break up in 2022, but was made subject to the order in 2024 after he continued to send the woman drunk messages in which he threatened to kill her.
Despite the injunction, Stogdale, who has two convictions for four previous offences, carried out a “persistent series of breaches.”
In August of last year, the defendant attended a pub that the victim regularly frequents and shouted abuse at her. In another instance, he walked past her on the opposite side of the road and threw a pint glass that smashed a metre in front of her, the court heard.
A further non-molestation order was then put in place in October last year, a copy of which the defendant posted on Facebook - an act he later attempted to blame on his new girlfriend, following his arrest by police.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman detailed how the incidents have left her suffering from “sleepless nights, anxiety, and depression.” She is currently signed off sick from work due to stress.
The court also heard how the harassment had impacted her future relationships as she is now “scared to get close to another man.”
A probation officer told the court that Stogdale had a pattern of alcohol related domestic violence born from a “desire to overcompensate for his personal insecurity.”
They further told the court how the defendant had found himself in debt due to alcohol and cocaine abuse, exacerbated by his personal struggles with mental health and depression, adding that alcohol “makes him aggressive.”
In mitigation, defence counsel Tonicha Allen told the court that the 36-year-old accepts he needs to be punished and “desperately” needs to address his issues.
She explained that all his convictions have occurred in the past few years, suggesting that “something went wrong.”
Opting against an immediate custody order, Judge Simon Batiste sentenced Stogdale to 11 months in prison, suspended for three years, plus 20 activity rehabilitation days and 12-month alcohol treatment requirement.
He also handed him a five-year restraining order, preventing him from contacting the woman or entering the street where she lives.
“I’m going to give you a chance, but one chance only,” Judge Batiste added. “Address the causes to stop reoffending, because if you come back before me then I will lock you up.”