Court / Fine for breaching bail order

A MAN has been fined £400 after appearing from custody at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Monday to admit breaching a bail order by contacting his ex-partner.

Denis Zalekesin, of Lerwick’s Leslie Road, pleaded guilty breaching the court order by repeatedly contacting the woman between 10 June and 20 August last year by text message and social media.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the 41-year-old contacted the woman on at least 18 separate dates, with a number of messages sent each day.

“None of them were overtly threatening in nature,” he said, with some of them related to the medical treatment of their child.

However, Mackenzie said a “significant number of them” would probably fall under the scope of an impending legislation concerning coercive and controlling behaviour.

The fiscal said the offence took time to come to court as the messages had to be translated.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said his client was no longer under any bail condition, although he is subject to a non-harassment order relating to the woman.

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He said it was a “situation where following an incident…he was ejected from his marital home”.

Allan asked Sheriff Ian Cruickshank for understanding in that it had been a “major change” for Zalekesin’s family.

Fining Zalekesin, the sheriff said he had to balance the fact that the 41-year-old man had breached an order with the assertion that the messages were not threatening.