A Dunedin man who breached a protection order three times in as many months got a serve from his former partner to go with a spell on home detention.
Steven Anthony Bond (47) appeared in the Dunedin District Court last week where he was invited to read a letter, in which he said he was "deeply sorry" for the repeated unwanted contact with his victim.
He said spending time in custody had had a profound effect, describing it as a place "full of sorrow, regret and lost dreams".
"I wish the best for you and for you to be happy," Bond said.
"I do promise I’ll never breach the conditions or break the law again."
The victim, though, wasted no time expressing her scepticism.
"I don’t believe you," she said.
The woman outlined the mental and financial strain under which she had been placed and said she hoped to rediscover the "happy, kind, fun, creative person" she was.
"Love, protect and honour me? You’ve done none of those things and even when you did it was for manipulation," the victim said.
In March, Bond was sentenced before the Invercargill District Court to 12 months’ supervision for breaching the same protection order.
But it had little impact.
In July, the victim contacted Bond to tell him she wanted no further contact.
He responded by sending her two emails and leaving her a voicemail message the next day.
The following month he called her six times in the space of a few hours, on one occasion falsely claiming his Probation officer had directed him to do so.
Bond was granted bail and ordered not to contact his ex-partner, but three weeks later he breached the order again, claiming he was responding to an email she sent.
Alcohol was the precursor to all his crimes, counsel Deborah Henderson told the court.
Judge Michael Turner said it was significant that Parliament increased the maximum penalty for breaching protection orders to three years’ jail.
"Repeated offending will see you imprisoned for longer and longer periods," he said.
Bond was sentenced to six months’ home detention.
