‘He pleads guilty knowing he will get a lesser sentence and it will be over and done with. When he gets a fine, it empowers him to continue’
After Mel Cook’s husband violently attacked her, and was made the subject of a restraining order in 2022, she assumed it would allow her to move on with her life without hearing from him ever again.
However David Myer has continued to contact her, finding himself in court for several breaches since. But instead of learning his lesson Myer breached the order within 24 hours of that hearing and ended up in court yet again. WalesOnline attended this sentencing in March this year during which Myer, now 56, walked away with a fine. Mel’s victim impact statement was not read out to the court and the prosecutor did not mention the fact that Myer had previously physically assaulted her.
Mel, 56, has now bravely decided to share her experience to highlight how she says she has been failed by the justice system. Instead of protecting people like her, she said it has only “empowered” her abuser to continue harming her. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here
“My life has changed so much as a victim while his life continues, apart from getting a fine or turning up to probation every now and then,” she said. “But my life has changed, I’ve changed as a person. The decision to fine him after everything just trivialises domestic abuse. These men get more of a kick out of it than they are bothered about the punishment.”
Mel said she met Myer in 2015 and married him in 2018. Around the time they divorced in 2022 his behaviour towards her became violent and abusive, she said.
In one horrifying incident Mel said Myer lost his temper, grabbed some keys and badly scratched her body with them. She said he also hit her with a belt. When she called the police and ran into the bedroom for safety, she said he smashed a window in an attempt to get to her.
Court documents seen by WalesOnline confirm that on May 10, 2022, Myer pleaded guilty to two charges of assault by beating and one charge of criminal damage. For the offences Myer received a 17-week prison sentence suspended for two years. He was also made the subject of a two year restraining order which prohibited him from contacting Mel directly, entering any premises occupied by her, entering any place associated with her work and entering “any data or causing or permitting any data to be entered in any device, system, network or the internet” which referred to her.
“I thought it would guarantee my safety and that everything would be fine,” Mel said. “I thought at least I’ve got some kind of confirmation here that he can’t do anything else. He can’t call me, he can’t contact me, he can’t record me.”
After the order was imposed Mel alleged Myer flouted its terms and she made multiple calls to the police to report what she believed were breaches. She said there was “back and forth” with officers about whether her allegations against Myer constituted breaches of the order or not. A spokesman for South Wales Police told us that Myer “was arrested each time the order was breached and put before the court”.
In one particularly distressing incident, Mel described how she was out shopping when she saw Myer recording her on his mobile phone. She said she reported this to the police, but that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided they did not have a case. Alarmingly Mel claimed this decision was made because Myer’s defence was that his probation officer told him to film her if he came into contact with her.
She said: “In court he was previously told: ‘If you see her in a shop, you must walk the other way.’ The restraining order clearly stated he was not to put any data into any device about me. However, I found him recording me around a supermarket. I had video evidence of this, but the CPS said to me they don’t think they will let it go to court because his defence is that his probation officer told him to film me. I asked them why would his probation officer tell him that? They explained that if it goes in front of a judge it will [not result in a conviction].
“Every time these things happen the police tell me that the restraining order is not clear enough so I would go back to the court. The court says it’s clear as day and specific, it’s just that the police are not acting on it. As a victim these are the last things you want to hear. You think this order is supposed to be protecting you, but in reality it’s not.”
She said from her experience there seems to be “a breakdown in communication between the court and the police”. She said: “If I have a restraining order and the court is telling me that it is specific to me, how is it when I report breaches the police come back and say: ‘It doesn’t say that in black and white’, that it does say that he isn’t allowed data about you on his phone, but it doesn’t say he’s not allowed to record you.”
In an attempt to make her feel more secure Mel said the court agreed to vary her restraining order, so that the wording was less open to interpretation. WalesOnline has seen a copy of this varied restraining order which was finalised on February 17, 2023. However, a year later in February 2024 Myer went on to breach the order several times, by searching for Mel on social media, which resulted in her receiving notifications on her phone.
On August 21, 2024 Myer found himself back in Cardiff Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to three counts of harassment in the form of breaching his restraining order. For this he was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £114 and £85 in costs to the CPS. The previous restraining order was extended until 2027.
Following the sentencing it took less than 24 hours for Myer to break his restraining order again. He dialled Mel’s number into his phone and called her, before cancelling the call.
Mel said it confirmed her worst fears: that restraining orders do not go far enough to protect victims. She said: “From the first breach I reported, and when the CPS said there was not going to be a case, from that moment I lost all faith in my restraining order. You have these hopes of being protected.”
On Monday, March 31, 2025, Myer – of Furness Close, Ely, Cardiff – appeared at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court again where he pleaded guilty to breaching his restraining order. Ahead of the hearing Mel said she had put her soul into writing a powerful victim impact statement. She hoped and believed it would be read out to the court and would give vital context to the decision making magistrates.
WalesOnline was present at the hearing and can confirm that the impact statement was not read out. There was also no reference to Myer’s initial convictions for violence towards Mel. WalesOnline approached the CPS and South Wales Police to ask why Mel’s impact statement was not read out to the court.
It is the perspective of the CPS that no impact statement was uploaded to the case file by the police, and therefore the prosecutor did not have it to read out to the court on the day of the hearing. It is the perspective of South Wales Police that officers correctly uploaded the impact statement to the correct case file ahead of the hearing on March 27.
Mel said: “My concern has always been the breakdown in communication between the police and what happens in court. A communication breakdown between the police and the CPS is resulting in a game of blame culture [between the two parties]. Neither does anything to support victims or help regain any trust or confidence in our legal system.”
An extract from Mel’s impact statement reads: “Multiple restraining orders served on my abuser, with the primary purpose of protecting me from potential harassment, harm, violence or contact, have been totally disregarded by him. These preventative measures, were reconsidered in the interest of forming a more robust document yet, there continues to be an established pattern of behaviour.
“I feel fortunate to be a survivor of domestic abuse, although living a life which has been completely upended professionally, financially, personally and medically, often calls this into question. In delivering this victim personal statement, I still live in hope that I will one day achieve some kind of closure, freedom, peace, and safety.”
Speaking to WalesOnline after the hearing, Mel said she felt dismissed and disappointed. She said: “As a victim you get a restraining order and you think you’re going to be protected. Then every time he breaches it, he is just given a fine – which probably doesn’t mean anything to him because he doesn’t work. When it gets to the court day for his plea he will plead guilty because he knows the evidence is there. He pleads guilty knowing he will get a lesser sentence and it will be over and done with. When he gets a fine, it empowers him to continue.
“That’s why I was so focused on hoping my impact statement would be read out. The impact of the continued breaches. Isolated incidents don’t portray the whole picture of who my abuser actually is. My victim impact statement considered events within a broader context, as individual instances do not always disclose underlying patterns of behaviour or systematic issues. His repeated offending is testament to this.”
Despite her own negative interactions with the justice system, Mel said she still wants to encourage victims and survivors of domestic abuse to report incidents to the police – no matter how insignificant they may seem. She said in doing so she has received increased security measures to help keep her safe. She said: “I don’t want other victims to give up hope, because it is tough. You have to be strong. There have been quite a few times where I have had a meltdown and thought ‘that’s it’ and it does make you feel like that at times
“Officers have said to me that it doesn’t matter how small something is, you have to report it and see it through. I still have a police marker on me which means if I ever ring 999 there will be an immediate dispatch to the property that I live at.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “This government is determined to deliver a system that protects victims, supports their journey to justice and holds perpetrators to account – as part of our mission under the Plan for Change to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
“Protective orders must provide meaningful safeguards for victims, which is why we expect police to use all available tools to relentlessly pursue those who breach these orders, ensuring victims receive the protection they deserve. We have also introduced Domestic Abuse Protection Orders which allow victims to obtain protection for as long as they need and impose tougher restrictions on perpetrators through electronic monitoring.”
A South Wales Police spokesman said: “Women and girls are disproportionately the victims of violence and abuse and can suffer at the hands of a partner, former partner, or family member and sometimes a stranger.
“South Wales Police has worked with women and girls living in South Wales and through the See Me campaign have told their lived experiences. The campaign aims to raise awareness and encourage everyone to stand against all forms of abuse and hold perpetrators accountable so that we can ensure we have a society where women and girls are safe.
“Restraining orders are just one way of protecting victims from further harm or intimidation. The police’s role is to enforce the conditions of the order which is issued by the court. As this case demonstrates, any breach of an order is a criminal offence – the individual was arrested each time the order was breached and put before the court.”
If you, a family member, a friend, or someone you are concerned about has experienced domestic abuse or sexual violence you can contact the Live Fear Free Helpline 24 hours a day seven days a week for free advice and support or to talk through your options: 0808 801 08 00.
