Albany man Blake David Harrison slammed for breaching FVRO so often police found offences too hard to count

An Albany man has narrowly escaped an immediate prison sentence after breaching a family violence restraining order against his ex-partner so many times police found his offences too difficult to count. Blake David Harrison, 28, appeared in Albany Magistrate’s Court last Thursday, pleading guilty to breaching an FVRO and pursuing another with an intent to intimidate under circumstances of aggravation. Police prosecutor Sgt Peter Yuswack told the court after downloading the victim’s phone data, police found they “couldn’t measure” the number of breaches he had committed, estimating the total at more than 400. Harrison made calls to the woman and contacted her on multiple platforms. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan sentenced Harrison to 10 months imprisonment, conditionally suspended for 12 months. Sgt Yuswack said Harrison made threats to take his own life if the woman did not reply to his texts. “The accused’s calls and messages were persistent. If she didn’t communicate with him, he made threats to commit suicide, saying it would be the victim’s fault,” he said. Defence counsel Wendy Stewart told the court Harrison had said not all the messages were abusive and on some occasions “his ex-partner contacted him”. Harrison was arrested and placed in custody on May 13. “At the time he was isolated, homeless, and he reached out to what he thought was his only support,” Ms Stewart said. “He’s spent four weeks in custody — jail has been an eye-opener.” Ms Stewart asked the court to consider a suspended jail term. However, Sgt Yuswack said the prosecution wanted him jailed. “This offence is manipulative and emotionally controlling,” he said. Sgt Yuswack said prison was warranted because he posed a serious threat to the victim’s safety. As a result of Harrison’s behaviour, his former partner had felt a sense of hopelessness and anxiety, Sgt Yuswack said. In 2019, Harrison breached a separate violence restraining order against the same partner, making him a repeat offender. In her sentencing remarks, Ms Scaddan said the “ongoing and insidious” nature of the communication was concerning. However, given he had already spent one month in prison and made attempts to acknowledge his issues, the magistrate decided to suspend his sentence.