Leeds Crown Court: Controlling thug jailed for breaching restraining order and sending victim holiday videos

Josh Paul Thompson, 32, was handed a suspended jail sentence in September after admitting coercive control, sending malicious communication and two counts of criminal damage. He was given a restraining order against his ex-partner.

But on September 29, just over two weeks after he was released from remand in custody, Thompson sent a message to the woman on Facebook messenger telling her he was sorry. On October 1, he then sent four videos to the victim from a holiday that they had been on together, which he later deleted.

Prosecuting, Lauren Hemsley said: “Those were clearly contact with the victim and were in breach of the restraining order.”

At Thompson’s sentencing this week, Leeds Crown Court heard a statement from the victim. She said reading the messages made her feel like Thompson had “walked into the room and punched me in the face”.

She added: “I felt like I was back to square one. I did not need an apology. He doesn't always send awful messages - that’s how he gets back in.”

When interviewed by the police, Thompson claimed the messages were from December 2021 and had failed to send at the time. But officers investigated and found that this wasn’t plausible.

Thompson later admitted two counts of breaching a restraining order, which put him in breach of his two-year suspended sentence. He has 12 previous convictions for 19 offences.

Mitigating for Thompson, James Littlehales said Thompson accepted he had been drinking and “wasn’t thinking straight”. Mr Littlehales added: “That was something that in the morning he immediately realised how stupid and foolish he’d been, and bitterly regretted. That was why he effectively withdrew the videos and deleted them.”

Thompson, of Windross Close, Normanton, was sentenced to two years in prison, which will take into account the time he has already served in custody.

Passing his sentencing remarks, Recorder Richard Thyne said: “I have no confidence that you intend to keep the restraining order or keep to the suspended sentence. It wasn’t passed as a warning, it was passed to be adhered to.”