South Shields man put behind bars for saying 'boo' to a woman against court orders

Colin Lowrie, 29, of Sunderland Road, South Shields, was remanded into custody until a week before Christmas for twice breaching a restraining order.

And he could see his jail incarceration extended by 18 months if a judge activates a live suspended prison sentence he is subject to.

The offender erred against the order by sending his victim the same single word message on social media site Instagram on two different days.

He looked shocked in the dock when borough magistrates refused to grant him bail, citing their fears he would continue to offend against her.

They heard the restraining order – banning any contact with the woman - was imposed for her protection by Newcastle Crown Court after he assaulted her in June 2021.

But Lowrie breached its terms on Monday, October 23, and on Wednesday, November 15 - and had already done so five times, prosecutor Paul Doney revealed.

The earlier breaches led a judge at the crown court to defer sentence, in the hope Lowrie would prove he could abide by the order’s terms.

His prison sentence, suspended for 24 months, was put in place after he breached the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, of which no details were given.

Lowrie, who pleaded guilty to two counts of restraining order breach, will remain in prison on remand until he goes before the crown court on Monday, December 18.

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Mr Doney said: “A restraining order was put in place by the crown court to protect the injured party.

“The order prevents the defendant contacting her, directly or indirectly.

“On October 23 she reported to police that the defendant had contacted her on Instagram, saying ‘boo’.

“Another Instagram message then said ‘boo’, and he also made a request to follow her on Instagram.”

He has 11 previous convictions from 24 offences, including three of violence, and has committed crimes while on bail.

In a statement read to the court, the woman said Lowrie’s harassment was preventing her from moving on with her life and was causing her stress.

Joanne Gatens, defending, said Lowrie was working well with the Probation Service on an ongoing court order.

Mrs Gatens added he was subject to a GPS monitored tag and had not tried to go to the woman’s home.