Trevor Hansen jailed for three years for sickening assaults on roommate during road trip

A father threatened to bash a woman until she was unrecognisable – then he brutalised her so badly she spent a week in hospital, a court has heard.

A woman believed she was going to die at the hands of her roommate who continually assaulted her during a road trip.

Trevor Shane Hansen, 40, committed the sickening attacks over a three-month period, blaming methamphetamine for turning him into a “monster”.

The Adelaide District Court heard Hansen and the victim were living in the same Para Hills share house in May 2019 and became sexually involved.

“You then began behaving violently towards her,” Chief Judge Michael Evans said during sentencing. “Your behaviour escalated over time.”

The court heard Hansen assaulted the victim multiple times between August and October of 2019.

These included throwing objects at the victim with force, one of which caused her to lose momentary consciousness, and squeezing her by the throat and restricting her breathing.

The court heard Hansen, the victim and two friends travelled to Berri for a camping trip in October, 2019.

The victim got into Hansen’s car after the car she was in was involved in a minor accident.

“At that time you struck the top of the victim’s head, causing blood to run down the back of her neck,” Chief Judge Evans said.

“Along the way you repeatedly called the victim names, assaulted her and made threats to her such as ‘I’m going to smash you so badly that you won’t be recognisable’.

“While driving, on a number of occasions you would bring your left fist down on the victim’s head like a hammer, swinging your fist at the victim’s face and forcing her face into the dashboard or steering wheel.”

The court heard the victim, who believed Hansen was going to kill her, managed to evade him at a service station with the help of the attendant who called police.

The victim remained in hospital for a week, with injuries including significant bruising and swelling to her face and head, blackened swollen eyes and lacerations.

Trevor Hansen was jailed for his sickening attacks over a three-month period. Photo: File

The Para Hills father pleaded guilty to multiple counts of assault.

“The nature of the offending, the injuries suffered and the declarations of the victim reflect how terrifying and traumatising your offending must have been for her,” Chief Judge Evans said.

The court heard Hansen was born in Whyalla and had worked on the docks in Port Lincoln but was now on the disability pension.

The court heard Hansen was addicted to methamphetamine at the time of the offending.

“You say using the drug turned you into a monster,” Chief Judge Evans said.

The court heard Hansen, who had a traumatic upbringing, had written a letter of apology to the victim.

Chief Judge Evans sentenced Hansen to three years and four months jail, with a non-parole period of two years and seven months.

The sentence was backdated to March 12, 2021.