Jail sentence for Hartlepool man who flouted court order just days later

By Newsroom
Published 1st Jul 2021, 09:50 BST
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A man who flouted a court order less than a fortnight later has received a jail term.

John Paul Raper, from Hartlepool, was barred by Teesside Magistrates’ Court from visiting a particular address in town on April 19 as part of a restraining order.

Yet just 10 days later on April 29 he breached the ban.

Raper, 58, of Wentworth Grove, in the Clavering area of town, denied the committing the offence under the Protection from Harassment Act and stood trial at the same court last month.

These Hartlepool cases were dealt with recently at Teesside Magistrates Court, in Middlesbrough. Picture by FRANK REID.These Hartlepool cases were dealt with recently at Teesside Magistrates Court, in Middlesbrough. Picture by FRANK REID.
These Hartlepool cases were dealt with recently at Teesside Magistrates Court, in Middlesbrough. Picture by FRANK REID.

But he was convicted and received a three-week jail term.

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The Middlesbrough court imposed the sentence after deciding that the offence was so serious because “the defendant has a flagrant disregard for court orders”.

Raper was also ordered to pay a £128 victim surcharge and £300 prosecution costs by the end of this month.

The court also decided that the jail term should run concurrently as part of a prison sentence imposed in May.

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