Committal for contempt of court: Elza Sheward -v- Graham Sheward

Family CourtCommittal for Contempt of Court

Case number: SD1402904

In the Family Court

12 May 2025

Before:

HHJ Cope

Between:

Elza Sheward

-v-

Graham Sheward

Judgment summary

  1. On 5 November 2024 I imposed a custodial sentence for six months which I suspended for six months. The sentence was suspended on the terms that the sum of £8,000 was paid by 6 May 2025.
  2. I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the sum remains unpaid.
  3. Despite the respondent having initially had six months to pay the sum when I adjourned penalty, and then a further six months following the suspended sentence, nothing has been paid and it appears that no effort has been made. There has been more than a year for the respondent to either work or set up the company (about which no documentary evidence has been sent).
  4. I remain more than satisfied that the threshold for imposing a custodial sentence remains crossed. Such is unavoidable.
  5. It is therefore with reluctance that I activate the six-month sentence given the respondent’s age and the overcrowding in prisons. A six-month sentence remains the shortest term commensurate with the seriousness of the offence.

HHJ Cope 12 May 2025