A 39-year-old man who breached a restraining order by repeatedly calling his ex-partner from jail has been put back behind bars.

Lee Jones appeared at Chester Crown Court on Friday, April 26, where he was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered not to enter the borough of Neston, where the complainant lives, for seven years.

The 39-year-old, of Mold Road, Ewloe Green, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of a breach of a restraining order.

The court heard that, following the breakdown of their relationship, Jones was issued with a restraining order on Tuesday, January 16, 2023, preventing him from contacting his ex-partner or going near her home address.

Across the following October, the victim reported that she was receiving around 30 calls a day from a number believed to be Jones’.

Later, on November 1, the victim received a voicemail message from an unknown caller. Listening to the message, she recognised the voice as Jones.

In the message itself, Jones told the victim that he wanted to continue seeing her and was struggling to comprehend why she did not want to be with him.

A further voicemail from Jones followed the next day, claiming that he was not seeing anyone else romantically and that he wanted her to be happy.

A third call then followed two weeks later on November 21, when Jones was a week away from being released from prison.

The victim said that the voicemails made her feel horrible, with the constant contact resulting in her fearing for her safety.

Demeaned and degraded

At the time of the phone calls, Jones had been serving a sentence in HMP Altcourse and was due for release toward the end of November. Officers from Cheshire Police met Jones upon his release from prison and promptly arrested him breaching his restraining order.

Following Jones’ arrest, the victim found the courage to disclose to Cheshire Police incidents of controlling and coercive behaviour that he had exhibited toward her.

She recalled an incident where he once put a knife to her neck in an attempt to try and stop her from going to work, which subsequently resulted in her giving up her career.

She also recalled how Jones would stop her from seeing her friends and family, would use their money for drink and drug binges and how the words he would use against her would make her feel threatened, frightened, demeaned and degraded.

'Commend bravery victim has shown'

When interviewed, Jones denied all knowledge of the phone calls made to the victim, claiming that he had no interest in being with her romantically and denying the number that had called her was his.

He also denied that he had prevented her from seeing family and friends and using abusive and degrading language toward her.

Despite his denials, Jones was charged and later appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday, February 21 this year, where he pleaded guilty to four counts of breach of a restraining order.

'Manipulative and violent'

Last Friday, Jones returned to Chester Crown Court where he was sentenced by judge Simon Berkson.

Following his sentencing, Police Constable Emily Dodd of Ellesmere Police Local Policing Unit said: “Firstly, I would like to commend the bravery the victim has shown throughout the investigation into Jones’ frequent offending; he is a manipulative and violent serial domestic abuse perpetrator, whose behaviour left his victim feeling vulnerable, humiliated and fearing that he could be around every corner whenever she left the house.

“While no sentence will ever be able to make Jones’ victim forget what happened to her, I hope the fact that he will now be behind bars, and will be continually managed upon his release from prison to prevent further offending, can provide her with both reassurance and a sense of closure.

“In addition, if you have concerns about your current or ex-partner, because you're worried, they may have a history of abuse and are a risk to you, then you can submit a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) application.

“The scheme, also known as Clare’s law, enables the police to release information about any previous history of violence or abuse that a person might have.

“The Constabulary takes all offences of this nature extremely seriously, and any allegation will be thoroughly investigated, with the wishes and needs of the victim as our main priority.”

To find out more about Clare’s law, or to submit a DVDS application, visit https://www.cheshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/daa/domestic-abuse/alpha/request-information-under-clares-law/