Sheffield man given second chance after repeatedly breaching a restraining order to contact ex-partner

The restraining order preventing defendant Richard Beer from contacting his former partner, the complainant, was taken out about a year before he breached it on a number of occasions in June 2020, Sheffield Crown Court heard during a June 23 hearing.

Prosecuting barrister Brian Outhwaite said Beer, of Elmore Road, Broomhill, made contact with the complainant ‘through a mutual friend’ in early June 2020 to ‘inform her that his grandmother had died’.

“She felt sorry for him, and allowed him to contact her via text message, telephone calls and allowed this defendant to visit her flat,” Mr Outhwaite said.

He added “She was complicit in that and in those breaches. Eventually, she changed her mind about maintaining contact with Mr Beer, and realised he was not good for her because she was trying to recover from alcoholism and decided to stop their acquaintance.”

The complainant attempted to block him from her mobile phone, but was unsuccessful, and on June 15 she arrived home, and Beer, aged 37, arrived shortly after, Mr Outhwaite said.

She asked him to leave and when he refused phoned the police, which caused Beer to become angry and he subsequently damaged a table, the court heard.

Mr Outhwaite said: “She left and went to a park near her house. She phoned the police and told them where she was and told them the defendant was in breach of his restraining order.

"Two officers arrived and found the defendant sat near her, and she could be heard shouting, telling him to leave her alone.”

Beer was arrested, and his phone was seized and analysed. He was found to have made ‘numerous’ calls to the complainant’s number, the court heard.

In a police statement read to the court, the complainant described how her recovery from alcoholism had been detrimentally affected by Beer coming back into her life, and had caused her to take ‘10 steps backward’.

"My main concern is that is something isn’t done, something will happen again,” she said.

Beer, who has previous convictions for drink driving, pleaded guilty to breach of a restraining order at an earlier hearing.

Defending, Rebecca Tanner said no further breaches had been carried out in the two years since the offence, which Beer committed when he was in the ‘grips of his alcohol addiction’.

Ms Tanner said Beer is now sober and in recovery, but added that doctors have real concerns about his liver, due to damage caused through alcoholism, and ‘a transplant has not been ruled out’.

Commenting on Beer’s offending, Ms Tanner added: “He was in a very dark place. His drinking was exacerbated more than normal because of his bereavement, and accepts his life was getting out of control.

"He has been grateful, in some ways, for his poor health because it’s acted as the catalyst he’s desperately needed.”

The judge, Recorder Mark Giuliani, told Beer the fact that the complainant had initially agreed to the contact, before changing her mind, was not mitigation because only a court could put an end to the order, and in doing so, allow him to contact her.

Recorder Giuliani said he believed Beer had a ‘realistic prospect of rehabilitation’ and sentenced him to 46 weeks’ custody, suspended for two years, ordered him to complete the building better relationships programme and 60 hours of unpaid work.

The restraining order taken out by the complainant remains in place.