A Police officer has been acquitted of stalking his ex-girlfriend.

Robert Butterfield, 36, was yesterday found not guilty of following the woman between July 1-25 last year, loitering and acting in an abusive manner.

Magistrate Juan Wolffe said evidence suggested there were times the couple were more like “girlfriend and boyfriend” than embroiled in a relationship based upon fear. Mr. Butterfield, of Old Military Road, St. George’s, is the father of the woman’s two-year-old daughter. His ex-girlfriend and daughter are currently living in the US where the woman is studying.

Mr. Wolffe, who has asked the Press not to name her, said: “The defendant did have a stressful relationship, probably exacerbated by the various court appearances in Bermuda and the US in respect of their daughter. But at other times there were times the relationship took on the appearance of girlfriend and boyfriend.”

He said that on July 10, the complainant spent the night with Mr. Butterfield at a hotel with New Jersey. “It appears the relationship was not so stressful that the complainant did not want to spend time with the defendant,” said Mr. Wolffe. “The obvious question that must be asked is, if the relationship was so stressful, why did she drive three hours to meet him in New Jersey?”

In Bermuda, they also “spent a lot of time together”, sorting out the child’s immigration papers, but also going out to lunch and shopping. Mr. Butterfield helped the woman move her furniture and they also introduced each other to their respective friends, the court heard.

The magistrate added that Mr. Butterfield was trying “to see the child as much as possible” before the woman returned to her studies in the US. He said he found the woman’s allegations of harassment “extraordinary”.

“It was crystal clear that during the first week of July, this was not just a relationship of one of close friends, but one of girlfriend and boyfriend, and the defendant did not engage in any conduct of causing emotional or physical harm,” said Mr. Wolffe.

“I do not accept the defendant harassed the complainant or that she was afraid of him.”

He said a complaint that he followed her into a supermarket could not be proven as “they would see each other in the neighbourhood and shop in the same store”.

The magistrate said the woman’s evidence was also at times unclear.

“It is of concern to me that she said ‘I do not recall or remember’ to questions she should have been able to answer. In contrast, the defendant gave evidence with a great deal of specificity,” said Mr. Wolffe.

He said Mr. Butterfield had made notes ahead of his trial to prove his innocence, and that he would advise other defendants “to do the same”.

However, he rebuked both parties in the case, saying: “I would say that both the behaviour of the defendant and the complainant as regards the child was definitely inappropriate.”

Mr. Butterfield, who is currently suspended from the Bermuda Police Service, yesterday spoke of his relief at the verdict.

He said: “The magistrate has just restored my faith that the justice system actually works. I didn’t do any of that, but at the end of the day I still have to deal with my child’s mother, I still have to be cordial to her, and it’s what I intend to do.”

However, he also criticised the Police Service, saying: “The Police need to properly investigate things as well. They need to be more transparent. I’m a policeman but I feel they have failed me in a way. If they do that to me, what chance does a normal person in the street have?”