A 25-year-old man has become the first person to be convicted of breaching a Domestic Abuse Protection Order in London.
Connor Cude was caught trying to leave his ex-girlfriend’s home in south London through the back garden on January 7.
A Domestic Abuse Protection Order (Dapo) had been put in place in December, banning him from contacting the woman or going to her home.
The pair had been in a relationship for three months when police were called to a disturbance at her home on December 28, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Cude was arrested and appeared at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching the order.
He will be sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on February 24.
Lionel Idan, Chief Crown Prosecutor for London South, said: “No domestic abuse victim should ever have to live in fear of their abuser.
“Connor Cude flagrantly breached the order only a few days after it was imposed.
“I hope this first prosecution in London for this breach of a Domestic Abuse Protection Order sends a strong message that offenders will be prosecuted.
“We continue to work with our criminal justice partners to ensure that more of these orders are sought, and that anyone who breaches them is swiftly brought to justice.”
The new Dapos, legislated for by the previous government in 2021, began being trialled in parts of England and Wales in November.
They were introduced in the London Boroughs of Croydon, Bromley and Sutton, as well as Greater Manchester and by the British Transport Police.
There will be further pilots in Cleveland and North Wales early in 2025 prior to a national rollout.
Dapos can be imposed by any court and are intended to cover all forms of domestic abuse. They have no time limit.
Along with imposing exclusion zones, the orders can make positive requirements of abusers such as attending behaviour change programmes.
Breaching the requirements of an order is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison.
Family courts will also be able to impose tagging for up to 12 months in the most serious cases, something that previously could only be done by criminal courts or the police.
And victims’ friends and family can apply for an order on their behalf.
