A SUSPECT who bombarded a woman with pleas that she stop a police case against him has been spared an immediate trip to jail.

Joseph Michael Smith, 37, claimed he would kill himself unless she withdrew her allegation that he had assaulted her, said Brooke Morrison, prosecuting.

York Crown Court heard he was on police bail at the time with conditions not to contact her and subject to probation supervision following a previous conviction.

Smith, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice in August 2022. He was given a five-month prison sentence with 15 days’ rehabilitative activities.

He remains on a community order with 130 hours’ unpaid work imposed for an unconnected racial harassment in November.

Judge Simon Hickey said the woman had been vulnerable because of her medical state at the time and she had been homeless.

Ms Morrison said Smith was arrested on August 28, 2022, after his now ex-partner alleged he had assaulted her.

Following his release on bail, he sent her a series of text messages on August 30 and August 31, 2022.

“He says he misses her and intimates he will end his own life and asks her to drop the charges,” said Ms Morrison.

The woman told him he was barred from contacting her under his bail conditions and told him to stop texting her. She also reported the text messages to police.

A probation report to the court said Smith didn’t think before he reacted and the probation officer didn’t think he understood the gravity of his actions. At the time of the offence, he had been under probation supervision.

Smith was now in a stable relationship with another person, said the probation officer, and could work with probation officers to rehabilitate himself.

After the judge announced what the sentence would be there was no defence mitigation.

Smith was also charged with assaulting the woman. He denied the charge and the case was due to be tried this week.

But on the day of the trial, the prosecution offered no evidence on the assault charge - and he was formally acquitted.

Judge Hickey said the woman had attended court that day, but then left. He said there was no suggestion her absence was the result of threats from the defendant.

“She has just not co-operated with the authorities,” he said.