Possible jail for breach of protection order…

A Protection Order is a tool used to protect individuals form any physical, sexual, economic or psychological abuse from an individual.

A man who had a protection order placed on him in 2010 by the Family Court has breached the order 357 times in two years. The man sent over 350 text and voice messages in 2020 and 2021 to the protected person, many of which were abusive in nature.

During 2020, the woman repeatedly told the man to stop, and when he didn’t, went to the police. The man didn’t stop however, threatening to break into the woman’s home as well as threatening to get the woman’s custody of their child revoked in late 2020.

In mid-2021 after being blocked by the woman, the man started sending messages through bank deposits attached to the child’s bank account, again breaching the Protection Order in an attempt to contact the child, who was also protected under the Order.

The man is set to be sentenced in April 2022 and it is likely, considering the number of breaches and the seriousness of some of the breaches, that he will face time in prison.

When a Protection Order is breached, it is a criminal offence. It carries with it the risk of the maximum sentence of three years in prison. The police can arrest the individual who has breached the Order without a warrant, if they have good reason to suspect the individual is guilty of a breach. 

Failing to follow a Protection Order has serious consequences. If there is confusion surrounding when a Protection Order is needed, or whether a breach has occurred, it is wise to seek advice from a professional with expertise in the area as there is no need to wait for multiple breaches before action is taken to enforce it. Early action here may have resulted in the bad behaviour being brought to a halt much sooner.

Leading law firms committed to helping clients cost-effectively will have a range of fixed-price Initial Consultations to suit most people’s needs in quickly learning what their options are.  At Rainey Collins we have an experienced team who can answer your questions and put you on the right track.

Shaun Cousins

Please note that Rainey Collins is not contracted to provide Legal Aid, other than in the Treaty of Waitangi area.  We therefore are unable to take on any Civil or Family Legal Aid work. If you require Legal Aid in those areas, you can search the list of Legal Aid lawyers on the Ministry of Justice website.