Game of Thrones actor jailed after harassment of former partner

A part-time Game of Thrones actor from Leamington has been jailed for persistently breaching court orders to keep away from his former partner - after a judge heard he even contacted her from prison.
Court news. NNL-160706-163936001Court news. NNL-160706-163936001
Court news. NNL-160706-163936001

Stuart Hawkings, who already had five convictions for 13 offences in relation to his ex-partner, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to two charges of breaching court orders.

Hawkings (39) of Kenilworth Road, Leamington, was jailed for eight months for breaching a restraining order and a further eight months for the later breach of a non-molestation order.

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Prosecutor Barry McElduff said that Hawkings had been in a relationship with his former partner, with whom he has a young child, since 2010 – and he found it difficult to accept when it ended.

As a result, she took out a non-molestation order against him and, following breaches of that order for which he was given a conditional discharge in January last year, a restraining order was also made.

In June, following further breaches of the orders by driving past her home on a number of occasions and phoning her, he was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence.

That was later activated, together with a further ten weeks, after he breached the orders again within hours of coming out of court, said Mr McElduff.

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Hawkings was released from prison at the end of August, but continued to breach the orders, and on November 8 he was jailed again for 12 weeks.

“He was due to be released on the 14th of December, but didn’t even wait until his release to begin contacting her again.

“He had obtained access to a phone in prison, and he contacted her the day before his release, asking: ‘Are you going to let me see my daughter tomorrow?’”

The police were notified and, following his release from jail, Hawkings was arrested and granted police bail.

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But on December 29 his former partner was contacted by the police who informed her that Hawkings had been using social media to allege she had been in a relationship with a police officer and making references to killer Raoul Moat.

“Because of the perceived threat, she was advised to leave her property that night, which she did with some friends.

“As they were going to the car, they saw the defendant driving past the address in his car.

“She had thought the defendant no longer knew where she lived, and she described herself as being panicky and on edge, and they drove to a nearby police station,” added Mr McElduff.

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Judge Andrew Lockhart QC commented: “There is no violence, but there comes a time when this type of conduct becomes psychological violence.”

Trevor Meegan, defending, said: “Psychological harm must, of course, be the primary consideration when looking at the harm caused in this offending, but the actual contact involved is minimal.”

Of Hawkings, Mr Meegan said: “He splits his year, working half the year as a landscape gardener, and the other half in Belfast, working as an actor on the TV programme Game of Thrones.

“Until 2016, he was a normal, hard-working family man. He had a seven-year relationship with his former partner which went very well until the birth.

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“She suffered from post-natal depression, and there was another relationship she got involved in, and the wheels came off.

“He now has a new partner, and they have a child, a baby boy seven weeks old. He was in prison when that child was born.

“He knows this will only move on once there’s an acceptance from him that he’s got a new life,” Mr Meegan added.

Jailing Hawkings, Judge Lockhart told him: “You are nearly 40, and you were not before a court until 2016 when things broke down and you would not accept that relationship was over.

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“This victim has become particularly vulnerable as a result of your conduct.

“I take into account that you have not used violence, and I give you credit for the fact that you had been a law-abiding citizen until the end of this relationship.

“But this was significant offending, and now you have to have a sentence imposed on you that will protect your former partner for a significant period.”

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