How having a bath landed this Mansfield man in court

Jordan Croft was arrested at 4am on Friday, February 14, when police attended his home in Longford Walk, after his electronic tag reported him outside of his address on two occasions the night before, Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard.

Under the terms of the curfew, the 19-year-old must remain inside after 7pm each evening for a specified time, but it recorded him outside of it on two occasions between 8pm and 9pm on Thursday, February 13, said prosecutor Robert Carr.

However, Abbie Edwards, defending, said that on both occasions, Croft had been having a bath and the structure - which was not made of plastic - had interfered with the signal.

The monitoring company called Croft on two occasions shortly after the ‘breaches’ and he explained on both occasions that he had not been outside, but having a bath, she said.

There had been previous issues when Croft had been bathing, but this was the first time the company had recorded it as a breach of bail and had him arrested, she added.

“He’s guilty of nothing more than having a bath,” she told the court.

The electronically-monitored curfew was imposed on Croft on January 30, but it was not stated why when he appeared before the court.

Magistrates found the breach had not been proven, but advised Croft to have a bath before 7pm for the remainder of the curfew.