North Queensland abuser jailed for horrifying assault, arson

A woman ran for her life from a man who tried to strangle her with a phone charging cord, and would later set her car alight by stuffing the fuel tank with a cloth and lighting it on fire. (Warning: distressing). Here’s the details.

Generic domestic violence picture Source: iStock / Getty Images

A man has been jailed after a woman ran for her life while he chased her in a car and then on foot in North Queensland after inflicting horrifying violence against her.

The man who can’t be named to protect the identity of the woman was sentenced by Judge Jennifer Rosengren according to Queensland Court documents obtained by the Townsville Bulletin.

In the Townsville District Court Her Honour detailed the violent spree which took place over a five-week period in 2023 against a woman in her 40s.

She said the now 36-year-old’s offending started when he punched the woman on a public street with witnesses trying to intervene by yelling at him, days later he took her car without her permission so she went to his house to get the keys.

“When she tried to tell you that she was done with the relationship, your response was to punch her to her left cheek,” Her Honour said in sentencing remarks.

“You remained in the car. You grabbed a phone charger. You tried to put it around her neck. You hit her jaw a few more times.”

The man drove to a creek as he threatened to kill her and told her he had a rifle in the boot of the car.

“You asked her if she wanted to see what was about to happen to her,” Judge Rosengren said.

“Your demeanour changed, and you then told her that she knew that you would never hurt her.

“You went to the boot of the car. You had told her previously about this rifle, and understandably she was scared that you were getting a gun. She was so scared that she escaped from the car, running for her life.”

She said the man started by following her in the car then parked and chased her by foot.

“She was so scared that she was hiding in a shed for about 10 minutes before going to get help and calling the police,” Her Honour said.

In a separate offence the man asked the woman to meet with him and during this time a domestic violence order was in place restricting him from having contact with her.

Judge Rosengren said she parked near him in a hire car she had to use as he had taken hers, and he put a piece of cloth in the fuel tank and lit it on fire.

“It was engulfed in flames,” Her Honour said.

Additionally the man was sentenced for punching a police officer in the face and trying to take his taser from him and breaking into homes and stealing more than $4500 and diamond rings valued at $30,000.

During a dangerous operation offence the man was also clocked driving up to 100km in a 50km zone to escape police.

Judge Rosengren condemned the domestic violence offence.

“She had a right to feel safe and respected in your company and quite frankly, it is the most gross abuse of trust that somebody places in you to then assault and threaten to assault in the repeated and protracted way that you did,” she said.

However, she took into consideration the “significant domestic violence” the man was exposed to as a child, she labelled his childhood as “terrible, tragic and sad” and acknowledged his long-term substance abuse.

He had also been diagnosed by a doctor with PTSD, anti-social personality traits and substance abuse disorder.

The man pleaded guilty to arson, assault occasioning bodily harm, threatening violence, serious assault and 38 summary offences.

He was sentenced to seven years jail and the 582 days he spent in pre-sentence custody was declared as time served. He will be eligible for parole on May 3, 2025.

Originally published as North Queensland abuser jailed for horrifying assault, arson