"I haven't done anything else since, judge" says domestic abuser in plea from dock at Sheffield court
A man convicted of assaulting the mother of his child repeatedly breached a decade-long restraining order within months of it being imposed.
Defendant Ashley Porter shouted “I haven’t done anything since, judge” from the dock, as Judge David Dixon told him his breaches of court orders were so serious he had no option but to send him to prison.
Porter’s plea was ultimately unsuccessful, and he was led out of court to begin a 16-month prison sentence during a Sheffield Crown Court hearing held on November 18, 2025.
Judge Dixon first sentenced Porter, aged 30, in June this year for the offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm committed against his former partner, when he came to the conclusion that Porter’s “mental health issues” meant a suspended sentence order was the best course of action.
Consequently, he passed down a sentence of 21 months’ custody, suspended for two years, along with a 10-year restraining order.
“I made it absolutely clear that any breaches of the order would result in you going to prison,” Judge Dixon told Porter, aged 30.
He continued: “Less than two-and-a-bit months later you decided, during the course of what looked like about an hour, you made four attempts to contact her on four different social media platforms.
“She had started to feel safe, but as a result of what you did she deleted her social media accounts.
“Why did you do that? For your own selfish reasons, you wanted to see pictures of your child…for you, nobody else.”
Judge Dixon said that in both pre-sentence reports prepared for the court, Porter’s submissions centred “more on your feelings” and failed to consider the impact his actions have had on his former partner.
Porter, of Shearman Avenue, Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, pleaded guilty to one count of harassment (breach of a restraining order) at an earlier hearing.
Defending, Rebecca Tanner said Porter fully appreciated he had been incredibly foolish, and committed the breaches at a “low point” when he was missing his young son and wanted to see pictures of him.
Ms Tanner also suggested a number of people would be detrimentally impacted should he be sent to custody.
She said Porter’s grandmother passed away in August, and he had taken on the responsibility of caring for his grandfather in the wake of the loss.
Ms Tanner said it is believed Porter may have the conditions autism and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), but has not received any formal diagnoses.
She said Porter had not been able to begin the ‘building better relationships’ programme as instructed at the last hearing, through no fault of his own, but described the other work he had undertaken with the probation service as being a “godsend.”
Sending Porter to prison, Judge Dixon told him: “You were told not to do this, you were warned in the strongest possible terms what would happen.”
The 10-year restraining order imposed during the earlier sentencing hearing will remain in place, Porter was warned as he was led out of court.