Peter Matthew Crabbe sentenced to three years jail for threatening to kill his family and assaulting his wife

A serial abuser has been jailed for the third time after pleading guilty to aggravated assault charges against his wife while his children were present.

A Port Augusta man has been jailed following a violent outburst where he threatened to kill his family and assaulted his wife in their family home.

Peter Matthew Crabbe, 46, was sentenced in the Adelaide District Court on Wednesday for aggravated assault and aggravated threatening life.

The court heard, on the night of terror, Crabbe went into the bedroom where his spouse was and said he would slit her throat before trying to drag her out of the room by her hair.

Judge Michael Durrant told the court that the ensuing screams woke his children, who Crabbe then brought to his partner.

“You walked into the bedroom with your son in your arms and threw him on to the bed to the complainant,” Judge Durrant said.

Crabbe pleaded guilty shortly before his trial was due to commence in the Port Augusta District Court. Picture: Facebook

“You said something like, ‘you can all get out of my f***ing house, I am going to murder all of you.’”

“You left the bedroom and went to the kitchen, the children were screaming and the complainant was trying to console them.”

Judge Durrant told the court Crabbe then returned to the bedroom with a knife in each hand, pointed at his partner and children, and was shouting, “I’ll f***ing kill you.”

“You moved towards the complainant who was lying on the bed, you were so close she could feel your breath, and one of the knives was about 2cm from her face,” Judge Durrant said.

“You were waving the knives and made a stabbing motion towards her throat and stomach before making stabbing motion towards her face.

“Had she not moved her head, the knife would have stabbed her in the face.”

The court heart when police arrived they observed Crabbe’s children were visibly distressed.

The attending officers located the knives on the kitchen bench and observed the victim’s injuries to her eyes, back and arms.

Crabbe was previously sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for a serious assault where he fractured a former partner’s jaw.

He was also sentenced to nine months imprisonment in 2014 for aggravated assault of a former spouse.

A statement from the victim was read out to the court by the prosecutor during sentencing submissions.

“My hopes were shattered that night,” the victim said.

“Since the event of the crime I have struggled to enjoy life with the same confidence and enthusiasm.

“I now struggle with unhealthy levels of anxiety when I see people.”

For the most recent attack, Crabbe was given a three-year sentence on charges of aggravated assault and aggravated threatening life.

He was given a non-parole period of one year, 11 months and 13 days.