A YOUNG man who persistently defied a court order by contacting his former partner has been jailed – but he will serve the term alongside a longer sentence he has been recalled to prison to finish.

Thomas Park, 22, who had already breached the restraining order involved on five previous occasions, pleaded guilty to two further breaches.

A judge accepted that the numerous messages sent to the woman by Park, whose address was given as Lowther Street, were not threatening. But his former partner had made it clear that she wanted no contact with him.

Prosecutor Becky McGregor, outlining the case at the city's crown court, said the defendant was supposed to have no contact whatsoever with the woman under the terms of a restraining order.

But on December 23 last year, immediately after his release from prison on licence for offences that included a serious assault on the woman’s brother, he began making contact with her.

He was released halfway through a four-and-a-half-year sentence, the court heard. For four of five days over the Christmas period, he persistently sought to contact the woman, sending her social media messages, and calling her.

He made some of those calls in the early hours of the morning, including 36 calls alone around the Christmas Day period. The court heard that the victim had made one 18-second call to Park, possibly making the defendant believe that was an invitation to further contact, said Judge Nicholas Barker.

Miss McGregor said of the victim: “She wants no contact with this defendant. This was unwanted contact across the festive period which she said left her scared to return to her home. She said in a statement that she feels the defendant is still trying to control her. She is scared of the defendant and doesn’t want to live her life in this way.”

Park’s criminal history includes 20 previous offences, including a domestic assault on the same victim, who did not provide a victim personal statement.

Judge Barker said that what aggravated the offences were that immediacy with which they were committed following Park’s release from jail and the persistence.

Defence barrister Russell Davies pointed out that there had been no attempt to physically visit the victim and nor was she in any way directly threatened or intimidated.

Judge Barker said Park now faced the prospect of serving in full his four-and-a-half-year sentence as a result of his recall to prison and he would not be released until March, 2024. “You were persistently and continually seeking to have contact with your former partner,” said the judge.

“It may well be that you thought there was some kind of invitation to contact her, although the phone traffic seems to clearly show she made one call of 18 seconds over this period whereas you made multiple, multiple calls in one form or another.

“Whatever belief you had… you should know that your requirement under the restraining order was to have no contact with her at all. You have a very poor record for compliance.”

The judge confirmed that the 14-month jail term he was imposing for the two restraining order breaches would not delay the defendant’s release date from the sentence he has been recalled to finish.

The judge added: “You must learn now, first and foremost, that court orders mean court orders and they will be complied with.

“If you or any other defendant does not comply the court will use its ultimate sanction and lock you up.”