Man sentenced after campaign of harassment against victim

A man who harassed his ex-partner and repeatedly breached a Non-Molestation Order has been jailed.

John Broadhurst-Dodd appeared at Chester Crown Court on Friday 19 December where he was sentenced to 37 months in prison and handed six restraining orders against him.

The 40-year-old, of Bunbury Lane in Bunbury, pleaded guilty to harassment with fear of violence and breaching a Non-Molestation Order at earlier hearings.

The court heard how the victim had previously been in a relationship with Broadhurst-Dodd, who had displayed volatile behaviour and had made numerous attempts to contact her after their relationship ended.

In May 2024, Broadhurst-Dodd was served with a Non-Molestation Order prohibiting him from communicating with the victim. But, despite this, he continued to contact her, using all possible methods of communication, which included making disguised social media accounts, and withheld calls, of which 14 numbers were attributed to Broadhurst-Dodd as being used to contact the victim.

In one of Broadhurst-Dodd’s calls to the victim, he threatened to shoot and kill her, leaving her fearing for her safety.

Broadhurst-Dodd, after pleading not guilty at the first hearing, pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial, admitting to further behaviours, such as making indirect comments to her online and also having organised for a family member to make a call to the victim’s place of work.

Broadhurst-Dodd did not stop at this, when in January 2025, the victim awoke to find a baby goat had been tied to a fence at the side of her house. Broadhurst-Dodd later phoned the victim and confessed to her that he’d arranged for the delivery of the animal as she ‘loved goats’.

Detectives were unable to trace the original owner of the goat delivered to the victim’s address but were able to confirm that the animal was safe and well, having been adopted by a local farmer.

Broadhurst-Dodd was arrested and interviewed in February 2025 by officers from Cheshire Police’s dedicated stalking investigating team – The Harm Reduction Unit.

Following questioning, he was later charged with stalking involving serious alarm/ distress and breaching a Non-Molestation Order. However, upon appearing in court, the Crown Prosecution Service accepted a plea for a charge of harassment with fear of violence.

Whilst Broadhurst-Dodd was remanded in custody, the Harm Reduction Unit successfully obtained an interim Stalking Protection Order protecting the victim and requiring him to wear a GPS tag should he have been released from custody.

Following the sentencing, investigating officer PC Morgan Eyre said:

“I welcome the sentence handed to Broadhurst-Dodd today by the court.

“I wish to thank the victim in this case for their courage throughout this investigation, and I hope this sentence allows them to finally rebuild a life that was damaged by Broadhurst-Dodd for too long.

“Broadhurst-Dodd believed he was invincible to any order placed on him, which he continuously breached throughout his course of conduct.

“Broadhurst-Dodd’s actions towards the victim were escalating in nature prior to him being remanded, making the victim fear for their safety.

“I also wish to acknowledge each and every officer who worked tirelessly on this case, leading to Broadhurst-Dodd pleading guilty on the first day of trial due to the amount of overwhelming evidence against him.”

Pictured - John Broadhurst-Dodd of Bunbury Lane in Bunbury.