Abusive ex-SAPOL detective Matthew Thomson confronted by his victim in court

She was beaten, kicked, bruised and belittled by the man who vowed to protect her — and the law. Now, this mother has told her ex-cop husband exactly what his abuse did to her.

Once a decorated police detective praised for his ability to enter “fight over flight quicker than most”, Matthew Alan Thomson made his wife and daughter fear for their lives.

Over four years, Thomson abused, isolated and degraded his former wife Stella Magnisalis, who says the torment didn’t even end when she was pregnant with his child.

After pleading guilty to four counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault and one count of aggravated assault causing harm, Thomson sat expressionless in the dock of the South Australian District Court on Tuesday as Ms Magnisalis, along with their eight year old daughter, told the court what he’d put them through.

She said his abuse was “slow, deliberate, calculated” and that after he would hurt her, Thomson – a former cop – would go about his days working in the family violence sector.

“My silence was not consent. I was trained to be obedient, to hide my pain,” Ms Magnisalis said.

Former SA Police officer Matthew Thomson has pleaded guilty to five counts of assault. Picture: Izzy McMillan

Matthew Thomsons, a former detective, pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife. Pictures: Facebook

“You broke things to scare me, and eventually I was one of them. My home became a prison and I lived in constant fear. To this day, I still believe that you’re going to kill me.”

She said over the years, Thomson had stomped on her, kicked her head “like a ball” and left her body covered in bruises.

“I was covered in bruises, calling it love and devotion,” she said. “I lost everything. Bruises on my neck, my face, my arms, my legs have healed, but the damage of the pain is still in my body.

“Even while I was pregnant, the assaults never stopped. I thought carrying a child might spare me, but the terror, the torment, the dehumanisation never stopped.

“Every year on my birthday, I cannot erase the smell, the texture, feeling utterly degraded after you wiped faeces on my face. Every year, that moment lives inside me.”

Matthew Thomson in police uniform. Picture: Youtube

After her statement, supporters who had filled the courtroom applauded.

Thomson, 42, now lives in Queensland with a new wife – a woman the court heard knows about his crimes but continues to support him – and the pair have just welcomed a new born son.

The court on Tuesday heard Thomson had always dreamt of becoming a police officer after growing up with a father in the defence force.

Peter Morrison, for Thomson, told Judge Anthony Allen that his client had a troubling childhood, and that he, alongside his mother and brothers, was a victim of his father’s violence in the home.

Judge Allen, however, said the fact Thomson was a serving police officer during the offending needed to be accounted for.

“There needs to be an element of sentence that denounces the fact that someone who’s responsible for enforcing the law has broken it,” Judge Allen said.

The couple’s now eight year old daughter Frances told Thomson that her life has changed because her father is “no longer hurting anyone I love”.

“I’ve seen my mum cry many times and I didn’t know why,” she said. “Now I know that it was because Matthew is a bully.

“I still remember when you slapped my face and gave me a blood nose. Don’t contact me. I don’t want to see you. What you did to my mum was disgusting, gross and unacceptable. You are not my father.”

Judge Allen will sentence Thomson in June.

Outside court, both Thomson and his wife declined to comment.