Man who forced mum to give him money to buy drugs jailed for coercive control

A man who coerced his elderly mother into withdrawing money to help him pay for drugs has been jailed for 21 months.

Robin Wray, 48, emotionally blackmailed his 84-year-old mum, telling her he would take his own life if she refused to give him money.

He was sentenced after admitting harassment without violence and engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour in a family relationship.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Wray, of Ken Churchill Drive, Horbury, pressured his mother on a number of occasions to give him money.

Prosecutor Emily Thorbjornsen told the court: ‘The defendant at the time had a bedroom at her address and was living between hers and various addresses with his friends.

‘The defendant was a drug user at the time and that caused him to lose his job. As a result, his behaviour towards his mother escalated and he relied on her as his only source of income. She received a weekly pension and he would repeatedly ask for money.’

After pressure, she gave in to his requests, the court heard. The pensioner described her son as ‘relentless’, and when she refused to give him money on one occasion, Wray ‘banged around’ her home, scaring her.

‘In the past, he threatened to commit suicide if she didn’t give him money. He would ask for her bank card in the middle of the night and on occasion would walk her to the cash machine in the night,’ Ms Thorbjornsen said.

‘She discovered her bank account was empty as a result of him getting money out. He asked her repeatedly to get him a loan and said he would use it to deal drugs and would give her the money back within days. He suspected she had money hidden around the house and would ask for that.’

She added: ‘She would often give in just to stop him from kicking off or hurting her.’

Wray’s mum became embarrassed to go shopping with her family due to having no money and lost weight as a result of the issues with her son.

In his interview, Wray told police he asked his mother for money every week because he was out of work, and added he had had £500 off her in the last year, but denied pressuring her to give him money.

The court heard Wray had previous convictions on his record for failing to provide a specimen and failing to surrender to custody. It was said his mother wanted contact with him but did not want him at her address.

Mitigating, Christopher Morton told the court: ‘”His drug addiction is the root cause of this offending. He hopes to repair his relationship with his mother and those other family members who have turned against him because of what he has done to her.’

His Honour Judge Crowson jailed Wray for 21 months and told him he would be the subject of a restraining order until further order.

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