Successful domestic abuse prosecutions during the COVID-19 pandemic: CPS West Midlands

CPS West Midlands Magistrates’ Court unit successfully prosecuted domestic abuse cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are just a few cases prosecuted between March and June 2020.

On 27 April 2020 at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court, Martyn Paul Jones, from Birmingham, was sentenced to a 12-month community order and a three-year restraining order after pleading guilty to stalking the victim.

In March 2020, Balbir Singh Bains from Coventry breached a restraining order that was issued in 2019 preventing him from contacting the victim. He pleaded guilty to being in his vehicle outside the victim’s address and failing to provide a specimen on the day of trial. He was sentenced to 16 weeks' imprisonment at Coventry Magistrates' Court on 6 May 2020.

On 15 May 2020 at Birmingham Magistrates Court, Kyle Evans from Coventry pleaded guilty to contacting the victim via text, in breach of a restraining order imposed in 2013. He was sentenced to 12 weeks' imprisonment and had his suspended sentence activated in full for 16 weeks to run consecutively.

Kirk Henry Williams from Walsall was convicted of two charges of breaching a restraining order that was imposed in 2016 after he repeatedly attended the victim’s address. On 20 May 2020 at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court, he was sentenced to 16 weeks' imprisonment for harassment and possessing Class B drugs.

21-year-old Henry Dudley-Stone from London was convicted of assaulting and stalking his ex-partner at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 21 May 2020. The vulnerable victim, who was 17 years old at the time of the offences, attended court during the pandemic to give evidence behind a screen. On 23 June at the same court, Dudley-Stone was sentenced to both a community order and a restraining order for 24 months.

Elle May Mills, from Wolverhampton, was convicted of breaching a restraining order imposed to protect two family members from harassment. During the COVID-19 lockdown and while on bail, Mills contacted the victims - who were shielding - on eight occasions. On 29 June 2020, she was sentenced to 16 weeks' imprisonment at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court.

Sarah Hammond, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “Domestic abuse offences are horrific crimes that can have long-lasting effects on victims and are regarded as particularly serious by the CPS. We are committed to prosecuting these crimes and ensuring victims are supported through the court process.