A Portadown man who turned up at his ex-partner’s home whilst on bail with conditions prohibiting contact has been sentenced to three months in prison suspended for two years.
Keith Leslie Wilkinson, 45, of Village Walk, appeared for sentencing on one count of harassment at Armagh Magistrates’, sitting at Newry, via videolink from his solicitor’s office.
Prosecution outlined that on February 4, at around 9.40pm, police were tasked to an address on Richhill following a report from the injured party that her ex-partner, the defendant, was at her home talking to her whilst on strict bail conditions.
One of these conditions was to have no contact with the injured party directly or indirectly.
When police arrived, Wilkinson had already left the area. A statement from the injured party was recorded on police body cam, with her further disclosing that the defendant had also contacted her via telephone earlier that day.
Wilkinson was arrested and charged with the offence before the court, prosecution stated that a restraining order was being sought in this matter.
Defence barrister David McKeown stated that his client had been receiving treatment for mental health issues at the time of this offence and asked that his client was given credit for his guilty plea.
District Judge Bernie Kelly commented: “This charge is a serious charge, while there is nothing of a similar nature in relatively recent years, he nevertheless has similar types of offending on his record, this is mitigated by his plea of guilty and he deserves credit for that.”
Wilkinson was sentenced to three months in prison suspended for two years, in addition a restraining order in relation to the injured party was put in place for a period of two years.
