A furious dad armed himself with a crowbar and wreaked havoc at his ex-girlfriend's parents' home after she left him.
John Welsh, 27, of Soho Street, travelled to the couple's Wavertree home, banged on the door and windows in an aggressive way, demanded to see his former partner, and shouted at his young daughter inside to open the door on April 3 2022.
He then used the crowbar to smash four windows at the property and "left the area, laughing to himself".
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He pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage at Liverpool and Knowsley Magistrates' Court today (October 11). He also pleaded guilty to one count of sending malicious communications to his ex-girlfriend's father, and one count of theft of his ex's mobile phone.
The court heard that the dad-of-two had been in a relationship with his former partner for 11 years and had two children with her before she left him.
In a police interview, Welsh had accused her of attacking him, claimed that "all (her) statements were lies", and that his subsequent attack on her parents' house was "a made-up story". He denied the charges, but later changed his pleas to guilty on August 16 shortly before a trial was due to begin.
Mr Neil, defending, said Welsh was autistic and suffered from bipolar disorder.
He said: "None of that excuses his behaviour. He has showed remorse, that his behaviour was appalling and he accepts that. But in relation to moving forward, I think there's hope for him. He's clearly someone who would benefit from assistance from the probation service."
District Judge Clarke said: "By far the most concerning feature of this offence is the fact that your daughter was in the property when you attended under the infleunce of drink and drugs and smashed the windows."
He sentenced Welsh to an 18 month community order, 20 days of rehabilitation, and ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. He also made a restraining order preventing Welsh from contacting his ex-girlfriend or her parents for three years, except through a solicitor.
He said: "If you fail to comply with the order and are brought back before the court, for breach, then I have every reason to believe that the court will consider a prison sentence, because you will have thrown away an opportunity to build upon the gains you have made."
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