A man who breached a restraining order against his ex-partner by humiliating her on a bus by calling her abusive names a day after assaulting her.
Alexander Latimer went to his ex-partner's home despite being banned from contacting her and threw a cider bottle at her head after an argument. The next day, he followed her around Ashington before going on to embarrass her by loudly calling her degrading names on a busy bus.
Latimer's abuse left the woman feeling reclusive and isolated, and he appeared at Newcastle's Moot Hall on Thursday via link from HMP Durham to be sentenced for common assault and breach of a restraining order. The 58-year-old pleaded guilty to the offences.
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The court heard that in May 2020, Latimer, of Railway Terrace, North Shields, was made subject of a restraining order for carrying out an offence against his former partner. But on March 20, Latimer breached the order when he went to the woman's flat unannounced and asked to be let in.
Ellen Wright, prosecuting, said: "She let him in as she was worried about him disturbing neighbours by buzzing the door. Once inside he asked to use the toilet, but when finished, she told him to leave and the defendant said 'I'm going after I've had this' and produced a bottle of cider and sat down."
An argument then broke out, with Latimer accusing the woman of "sleeping with someone else", he then threw the plastic bottle of cider at her head, hitting her but causing no injury. She then told him to leave, which he did.
Ms Wright said the following day, the two were texting each other, and the woman told Latimer she was travelling to Ashington to lay flowers on her nan's grave. She said: "He accused her of meeting a secret boyfriend and to placate the defendant she agreed he could come along."
Latimer then met the woman and they travelled to Ashington together on a bus, with the woman "ignoring" him during the journey. When they arrived in the town, the two walked around and the woman mentioned that she would walk to school in the area with a boy when she was younger, causing Latimer to brand her a "sl**". He again began verbally abusing her and accused her of sleeping with other men.
The two then went their separate ways, but when the woman later went to get a bus home later that day, Latimer was at the station and got on the same bus. Ms Wright said Latimer then began branding her a "prostitute" and other degrading names in front of other passengers and made calls to friends where he loudly humiliated her during the journey.
In a victim statement, the woman said Latimer's abuse left her "distraught and mortified" and that she became reclusive and isolated. The court heard Latimer had 35 previous convictions for 49 offences, including 19 previous convictions for breaching a restraining order.
Mark Harrison, defending, said that Latimer "ought to know better" and said the assault was more "reckless rather than deliberate" as he was aiming the cider bottle for the bin. He said following the death of Latimer's mother, he began drinking alcohol and then resumed contact with the woman.
He added: "He accepts that his behaviour on the bus was wrong. He is rightly embarrassed by that behaviour. He acknowledges his behaviour was hurtful and mean."
Sentencing Latimer, Recorder Harry Vann jailed him for 16 months. He remains subject of a restraining order.
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