Port Pirie man sentenced over disseminating child exploitation material and assault charges

A young father who assaulted his former long-term girlfriend with a broken door and uploaded an explicit picture of her pregnant said he just wants to be a good father.

A Port Pirie father has avoided jail time after assaulting his ex partner and publishing a nude photo of her while she was pregnant.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the Adelaide District Court on Monday, after pleading guilty to a number of charges including disseminating child exploitation material, aggravated assault and unlawful sexual intercourse.

The court heard the man and his former partner had been together since they were teenagers and welcomed their first child in 2020.

While the victim was pregnant, the man had assaulted her by pushing a broken door into her neck one night after an argument.

The man will be sentenced next month after he uploaded an intimate image of his teenage girlfriend on Snapchat.

“You approached complainant and she put her leg out to protect herself which hit your shin,” Judge Gordon Barrett said during his sentencing remarks.

“You picked up the broken internal door frame and pushed it against her neck, causing a big black bruise.”

In September 2020, the victim, now 19, had sent the man an intimate image of herself at his request, before he then uploaded it to his Snapchat story.

“When she contacted you by phone, you threatened to post more nude images of her if she contacted the police,” Judge Barrett said.

The court heard however, due Snapchat settings only the victim could see the photo, but she believed it was available for the public’s viewing.

The court also heard two weeks after the couples child was born, the man became angry and “beat the complainant by pushing and striking her multiple times.”

“The assaults caused you to drop the child, however he fell into the bassinet and he was not harmed,” Judge Barrett said.

At an earlier court hearing, the victim appeared via audiovisual link where she read her victim impact statement to the court.

“I am absolutely terrified of the accused,” she said.“ For almost three years, I lived a cruel game of cat and mouse … he was always in control and I was scared and submissive to him.

“He broke my spirit and stole my independence and silenced my voice.”

The victim also described how she felt “helpless” due to her young age, leading her to cutting friends and family out of her life.

The court heard of the man’s remorse as his defence counsel Stacey Carter submitted to the court that the pressure of becoming parents in their teenage years and while in the height of the Covid lockdowns had put immense pressure on both parents.

“He wants to be a really good father,” Ms Carter said.

“He accepts his behaviour was poor and that it did result in violence. The element of posting the photo was just mean and he acknowledges that.”

Judge Barrett sentenced the man to one year, nine months and 19 days imprisonment with a non parole period of six months.

The term was suspended for a good behaviour bond of three years.