Dyslexic Sutton man could read banning order from ex

A dyslexic Sutton man who didn't realise he was banned from going within 100 metres of his ex partner's house because he couldn't read the court order has been fined.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.Mansfield Magistrates Court.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.

Steven Buttery visited a friend for coffee on Winster Way, opposite his ex’s house, on January 6, and breached a non-molestation order that was made in November.

In a victim impact statement, she said: “I am on edge all the time. He has previously come around and threatened violence.

“To see him on my street made me think he was going to come around and follow through the threats.”

She said the “fear of seeing him and him kicking off” made he want to stay at home and had affected her social and family life.

The court heard Buttery had breached a restraining order in August last year, but no further order had been made.

He told the court: “I can’t read. I didn’t know I wasn’t alllowed within 100 metres. I just thought I wasn’t allowed to contact her.”

Buttery, 32, of Moorland Close, admitted breaching the order, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Wednesday.

District judge Jonathan Taaffe said: “This is a serious matter. The order is in place for the protection of the victim . If you carry on in this way, you will end up being locked up.”

Buttery was fined £500, and ordered to pay a £50 government surcharge and £85 costs.