A dad-of-six in court for the ninth breach of a restraining order limiting contact with his family described himself as ‘really boring’ as he made an impassioned plea to the judge.

The purpose of Christopher Miller’s monologue was not entirely clear, but appeared to be an attempt to persuade Recorder John Bate-Williams not to ‘go down this route’ and that he dearly loved his children.

Describing himself as ‘really boring’ and illustrating how isolated he was from his friends, who he did not see ‘from one year to the next’, he said: “I’ve gone from a big family; six children and a dog.”

“I’ve never asked for anything,” the bespectacled defendant said via the video link from HMP Bullingdon.

“I just said don’t involve my children.”

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Miller, 52, was at Oxford Crown Court this week to be sentenced for his ninth breach of a restraining order.

The order was first imposed in 2019 when Miller was given a community order for harassing his ex-wife.

She had found him at the back of the marital home months after he had moved out following the breakdown of their marriage.

Since that conviction, he had repeatedly been before the courts for flouting the terms of the order by contacting his former partner.

He was still being monitored by the probation service following his release from prison for breaching the restraining order when, in February, he texted another individual with what Recorder Bate-Williams described as a rather rambling message ‘slagging off’ his ex-wife.

That message included a claim that the restraining order was a ‘full of s*** injunction’. Within days, he passed a number of gifts to the same individual, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

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Miller was arrested and gave no comment to questions asked of him when he was interviewed.

The defendant objected to parts of the account given by the prosecutor, including the fact he had used threatening or disorderly behaviour in front of ‘health professionals’ – despite it resulting in a conviction that appeared on his criminal record.

In mitigation, Helen Easterbrook said her client was frustrated in part because his ‘perspective’ differed from that of his former partner.

His motivation, as revealed in the text messages, was to ‘protect his children’, it was said.

The defendant, who suffered from poor mental health, understood the importance of settling disputes through the family courts.

Miller, of Steeple Aston, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court in March to breaching the order.

Jailing him for 16 months, Recorder Bate-Williams said: “These were clear breaches of the restraining order.”

He added: “It is important for you to recall that the maximum sentence is five years’ imprisonment.”