Judge Orders Man Not To Have Girlfriend

A judge in Ontario, Canada has ruled that a 24-year-old man is not allowed to have a girlfriend for the next three years.

The ruling came after Steven Cranley pleaded guilty to several charges stemming from an assault on a former girlfriend.

Cranley, who has been diagnosed with a dependent personality disorder, attacked his girlfriend in an argument after their breakup. He then tried to prevent her from phoning the police by cutting her phone cord and punched and kicked her. He finally stabbed himself with a butcher knife when police arrived.

Doctors said in court that Cranley had difficulty coping with rejection and had a high risk to re-offend if he became involved in another intimate relationship.

So Justice Rhys Morgan said Cranley could not "form a romantic relationship of an intimate nature with a female person".

"That is the only way I can see the protection of the public is in place until you get the counseling you need".

His lawyer says the no girlfriend order is the first of its kind that he has encountered.

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