A MAN issued a chilling message as he was arrested for breaching a restraining order after turning up outside a police officer's home and making comments about her sexuality.

Lee Bennett was shouting outside his victim's home, demanding the return of his mobile phone and making comments about her sexuality and her job. As he was arrested, he said: "When I get out, she’s having it." 

He appeared in the dock at Swansea Crown Court for breaching the restraining order, and also for a separate offence where he defrauded his “vulnerable” neighbour out of £400. 

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Prosecutor Harry Dickens told the court that Bennett asked his next door neighbour for her bank card and PIN to repay a £5 debt on April 2 last year. When he returned it, he gave her a £10 note.

He had removed £300 from her account at a cash machine at the Post Office in Pontardawe, and another £100 from a cash point at Tesco. He had also twice attempted to take out another £100, but wasn’t able to.

When his victim realised £400 had been removed from her account, she had cancelled her card. Mr Dickens said she confronted the defendant about the money, but he told her she “had no reason to report him to the police”.

The prosecutor told the court the victim was “scared” what Bennett would do if she reported him to the police, and was “upset” he had taken advantage of her trust.

Bennett later told the police that he did take the money, but claimed it wasn’t fraud as his victim had given him permission to take out £500 to buy a car. He claimed she was “confused” over the £5 debt, and “suggested somebody had been putting ideas in [her] head,” Mr Dickens said.

“This was targeting a vulnerable victim,” he added.

He pleaded guilty of fraud by false representation at Swansea Crown Court on May 3.

Swansea Crown Court heard that another woman was granted a restraining order against Bennett on July 18 last year.

On February 3, the victim and her partner – who were both police officers – were at home when they heard a man shouting outside. Her partner recognised it as Bennett’s voice and saw him pointing at the house whilst shouting.

“The defendant was shouting and demanding his own mobile telephone back,” Mr Dickens said, adding that Bennett later said his phone had been seized by the police six weeks beforehand.

Bennett could then be heard making comments to a passer-by about the victims’ sexuality and their roles as police officers, before making a false claim about having a past relationship with one of the women.

He then drove off, beeping his horn repeatedly.

The police had been called, and Bennett returned to the address whilst the officers were there. He was obstructive, and was arrested at just after 9pm – having been removed from his car at Taser-point.

When he got out the car, he said: ‘When I get out, she’s having it.’

His victim said she was left “petrified and scared” following the incident, and added that she “doesn’t feel safe”. 

Her partner told the court the incident had “broken her” as both her and her partner “have been subjected to shocking behaviour”.

Bennett denied the offences, but was convicted at Swansea Magistrates’ Court of breaching a restraining order and two offences of use threatening, abusive, or insulting words and behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

The 53-year-old defendant, of Lon Y Coed in Pontardawe, had 27 previous convictions for 54 offences, including for stalking one of the women whose house he turned up at. He had also breached this restraining order twice before.

Ashanti-Jade Walton, in mitigation, said: “Mr Bennett is under no illusions. He knows that a sentence of imprisonment is inevitable.”

She told the court that Bennett had paid the full amount back to his neighbour.

Addressing the other offences, Ms Walton said Bennett had been “impulsive”, but upon reflection had realised he should have walked away.

“He does require further help with regulating his emotions and having the ability to walk away when the rest mist sets in,” she said.

She said Bennett self-medicated with amphetamine to deal with the pain from several health conditions.

Judge Paul Thomas KC sentenced Bennett to a total of 56 weeks in prison, and granted his victims three-year restraining orders against him.