Judge says violent ex-boyfriend should be named and shamed

A JUDGE told a Toowoomba man – who tied his former partner to a car with zip-ties to stop her leaving – that his face should be published on Facebook.

A JUDGE told a Toowoomba man - who tied his former partner to a car with zip-ties to stop her leaving - that his face should be published on Facebook as a warning to potential future girlfriends.

Judge Philip Robin heard the 19-year-old woman was likely tied to parts of Matthew Paul Schneider's car for two to three hours until she found nail clippers she used to break free.

She then jumped into a stranger's car, diving over the 79-year-old man sitting in the driver's seat into his passenger seat to get away.

But the judge then learned Schneider was already in a new, stable relationship without domestic violence back in Toowoomba.

Schneider pleaded guilty to deprivation of liberty when he faced Brisbane District Court Monday.

Barrister Scott Lynch said Schneider was trying to take care of his former girlfriend, who he believed had mental health problems, in the context of a "chaotic" relationship where they were bad for each other.

He said his client had ended the relationship after this incident but had received an "extraordinary number" of text messages from the teen wanting him back.

Mr Lynch said the tone of the texting ranged from vitriolic abuse to compromising photos, declarations of love and missing, as well as photos of her new partner and pregnancy tests over several months.

Crown prosecutor Ron Swanwick said there had been a long history of domestic violence before Schneider tied her up in March last year.

Mr Swanwick said the violence was verbal and physical but the woman felt she could not leave Schneider because she was estranged from her family and had nowhere else to go.

He said she believed she could not run away because he had told her he had people to track her down.

Mr Swanwick said the woman previously had been asked to leave several women's shelters because she kept contacting Schneider despite seeking refuge from him.

He said there had been other incidents leading up to the deprivation, including Schneider earlier threatening to bind his girlfriend with zip-ties and beat her.

He said the woman had welts and bruises on her wrists from the plastic ties.

Mr Swanwick said, in isolation, the deprivation would be "very serious" but in the context of their relationship, it was an "extreme" incident.

Judge Robin sentenced Schneider to six months jail but wholly suspended the sentence for two years.

Originally published as Judge says violent ex-boyfriend should be named and shamed