'Dog treated better': Jail for bashing pregnant woman

A TOOWOOMBA Magistrate told a man who bashed a pregnant woman that he had 'treated the dog better than the woman carrying his child' before jailing him.

A TOOWOOMBA man who assaulted the woman carrying his unborn child has been jailed.

Rowen Craig Howlett, 27, had argued with the woman at her home Saturday night, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.

He struck her to the floor in the kitchen before kicking her to the back and head while she curled up in a ball trying to protect her stomach, police prosecutor Senior Constable Tim Hutton said.

When he then took the dog for a walk, the woman rang police.

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When he returned to find the woman lying on a mattress in the lounge room, he sat on her stomach and grabbed her by the throat, Snr Const. Hutton said.

Police arrived and arrested Howlett who spent the rest of the weekend in custody before appearing in court and pleading guilty yesterday.

His solicitor Alison Glanville told the court her client offered no excuses for his "appalling behaviour" and accepted the incident was very serious.

Magistrate Bruce Schemioneck told Howlett he had treated the dog better than he had the woman carrying his child and sentenced him to nine months jail, but ordered he be released on parole on July 12 after having served a third of the term.

Originally published as 'Dog treated better': Jail for bashing pregnant woman