Update
MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Mossel Bay dog behaviourist Steven Montgomery (50) was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for three years, after he pleaded guilty to the contravention of a harassment order on Wednesday 11 March.
Montgomery was arrested at his Boland Park home last Thursday and made his first appearance in the Mossel Bay Magistrate’s Court the following day.
The matter was postponed to today for a formal bail application, however, the application did not proceed as Montgomery pleaded guilty, and the court was able to finalise the matter there and then.
The court had heard that a harassment order against Montgomery, applied for by the chairperson of the Mayoral Committee Member with the Portfolio Community Safety, Cllr Leon van Dyk, was granted on 4 March and that Montgomery was ordered to take down all social media posts concerning Van Dyk on or before 14:00.
However, on the same day the order was granted and served to him, he posted a video on Facebook mentioning Van Dyk - after all content concerning him should have been removed.
Montgomery told the court he understood the charges against him, saying in a statement read out in court by his attorney that on 4 March, he wrongfully and unlawfully violated the order by posting unverified information about Van Dyk.
His statement further read that after the proceedings and the order against him was granted, he returned home, and after having time to think about everything, became emotional about the treatment of animals at the park (Harry Giddey Park) and made the Facebook post. 
Leon van Dyk. Photo: Mossel Bay Municipality
He said he made an emotional but wrongful decision to post.
The court heard that he was a first-time offender and that he pleaded guilty out of remorse.
The magistrate said the matter was a serious offence, that he was given a court order that he had contravened the same day.
She added that this was the very first case before her of a person contravening a harassment order on the same day it was granted.
She said the mitigating factor was that he was a first-time offender at 50, that he had pleaded guilty, therefore not wasting the court’s time, and that he had shown remorse. The magistrate said she could see Montgomery crying in the dock as she spoke.
She handed down the sentence, adding that if he makes more posts about Van Dyk, he will be arrested, convicted and serve prison time.
The magistrate said the ball is in Montgomery’s court, and if he does not contravene the order again, he will stay away from prison.
She said the harassment order is valid for five years and if he contravenes it, he will be in trouble.
Montgomery said he understood the sentence, and he was then able to leave the court. He is no longer in police custody.
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