Would-be DJ breached restraining order in Facebook messages

Kurtis Wood, 28, left court with a suspended sentence and a restraining order in August last year after attacking the woman on Lever Street, Great Lever.

But Bolton Crown Court heard how he had simply gone on to send her a string of messages on social media, which the order had banned him from doing.

Prosecutor Alistair Reid said: “There had been a series of incidents recently with Facebook accounts he created and attempted to add her as a friend.”

As Wood looked on via video link from prison, Mr Reid told the court how on December 29 this year he had sent the women four messages from an account called “Kurtis Smith Wood.”

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

There was also a screenshot showing that he had tried to add her as a friend on a Snapchat account.

Mr Reid accepted that none of the messages had been “particularly threatening” but reminded the court of Wood’s violent background.

The 28-year-old, of Chorley New Road, had been sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years in August last year after confessing causing actual bodily harm and criminal damage.

He was also ordered to complete 25 days of rehabilitation activities, relationship and alcohol treatment programmes and obey a restraining order banning him from contacting his victim.

But after breaching this order by his flurry of messages in December, Wood was arrested and admitted to police when interviewed that he had breached the restraining order.

Brought before the court again Wood, who has 18 previous convictions for 35 offences, pleaded guilty to harassment by breach of restraining order.

Mr Reid told the court how eight of Wood’s previous convictions had been for breaching restraining orders, but that this was the first for this particular woman.

Hannah Forsyth, defending, accepted Wood’s “extremely foolish course of action” and said he accepted that his “only realistic sentence is custody.”

But she said that he had earned credit for his guilty plea and she that, through her, he wanted to express his remorse.

Ms Forsyth told the court that after he was released Wood hoped to pursue a career as a DJ.

Judge Nicholas Clarke KC said he accepted the messages were “not particularly threatening.”

But he reminded the 28-year-old of the distress he had caused his victim, which was “all the result of a campaign” he had launched.

Judge Clarke sentenced Wood to a total of 14 months in prison.

He warned him he would be “in peril” if he ever breached his restraining order again and urged him to work with the probation services on being realised.

Judge Clarke said: “And then, hopefully, you can get yourself back into DJing and whatever other ambitions you may have.”