Search for closure goes too far, after man dumped by text

Friday 22 March 2019

Breaching two restraining orders through a huge slew of phone messages to an ex-partner has landed a man with a 24 month probation order, leaving him just shy of being sent to prison.

Darren Le Page, 52, was sworn to an oath of good behaviour alongside the probation order, meaning if at any point he crosses the law again, he can be immediately summoned for re-sentencing.

Le Page found himself being prosecuted after he continued to try and contact his ex-fiance, who had suddenly broken off her relationship with him after eight months. In the words of his defence advocate, Chris Green, Le Page was essentially "dumped by text", leaving him looking for closure as to why things had gone wrong. 

But he took that search for closure to the extreme, leading to his victim being scared to walk around on the streets and being signed off of work for stress. Le Page was a served with two separate harassment notices, both of which he breached through actions which eventually led to his arrest. He also went to the property on one occasion but left after no one answered.

The court was told the harrassment was not something that was ongoing in nature, however, but rather isolated incidents which were linked to when Le Page had been drinking. This led him to leave multiple voice messages on his ex-partner's phone, and continue to try and contact her. At one point, he left a message which said he wanted to get closure from her, and that "this wouldn't stop" until he did. It was also made clear to the court that nothing the defendant did was of a threatening or abusive nature - he pleaded guilty to the charge on this basis. 

Advocate Green told Judge Gary Perry his client had not understood what he was doing to the victim at the time, but now, he had a very clear grasp of the suffering he had caused her. Since then, Le Page has started a new long term relationship and has moved on. He has also stopped drinking entirely to prevent similar situations arising. 

Much of the harassment, Advocate Green said, was done during a "dark time" in Le Page's life, because of problems he had after the breakup. 

Le Page pleaded guilty to the offence on the 18 February 2019.

While Crown Advocate Watson said the defendant had "numerous" previous convictions, the most recent was 13 years ago.

Judge Perry said: "Harassment of partners is an insidious offence, where small actions can have big consequences on other people. Your actions in this case have had severe, if unintended, consequences, and you should be ashamed of your behaviour.

"I have seriously considered sending you to prison, but the only way to put an end to the possibility of future offending is for you to be forced to address your issues head on, and that may not be an easy process." 

During Le Page's two year probation order he must follow a number of specific rules and also report to an officer on a regular basis. In addition to that, a £500 compensation order was given to be paid to he victim, and a new, five year restraining order was issued. Judge Perry said it was of the utmost importance Le Page did not breach this one.