Central Queensland rugby winger Christopher Daniel Rose pleads guilty to ‘terrifying’ assault of woman

A former rugby star bashed a woman unconscious, stuffed her into a boot with duct tape and a shovel before driving at speeds of 170km and taking her into secluded bushland.

Central Queensland rugby star Chris Rose viciously assaulted a woman before driving her to a secluded bush location where he told her ‘we’re going to go out and dig a little hole’.

A former representative rugby union star told his partner he was going to “dig a little hole” after beating her to unconsciousness and driving recklessly to a secluded bush location while trapped in the boot with duct tape and a shovel.

Central Queensland rugby winger Christopher Daniel Rose pleaded guilty to charges of assault occasioning bodily harm, deprivation of liberty and unlawful use of a motor vehicle for a “terrifying” episode heard in Bundaberg District Court on Monday.

Central Queensland rugby star Chris Rose viciously assaulted a woman before driving her to a secluded bush location where he told her “we going to go out and dig a little hole.”

Crown prosecutor Hannah Mangione told the court that on the day of the offending in September 2022, the victim decided to break off the relationship with Rose due to some threats he had made to one of her family members and went to his Rubyanna home to inform him of that decision.

The court heard the discussion escalated to an argument about the threats Rose had made to the victim, and at some point Rose got into the passenger’s seat of the victim’s car and asked her to drive him somewhere.

While the victim was in the driver’s seat, with the car still stationary in front of Rose’s home, Rose suddenly attacked her by repeatedly punching her in the face.

Rose then pulled the victim by the hair towards him and kneed her in the face with such force that she was knocked unconscious for an “extended period of time”, the court heard.

When the victim regained consciousness, she found herself stripped of her shirt in the boot of the car along with duct tape and a shovel, with the car travelling at speeds up to 170 km/h along a highway.

At one point during the “terrifying” drive through the night, Rose saw that the victim had regained consciousness and told her “you’ve been asleep for a long time sleeping beauty, we’re going to go out and dig a little hole”.

The victim fell in and out of consciousness through the rest of the trip, in which Rose drove into secluded bushland arriving some time after 6pm.

While she remained trapped in the boot, Rose began digging in the ground nearby and told her he was looking for a gun, the court heard.

Being unable to find the weapon, Rose re-entered the car to drive to another location but found the car had become bogged and he spent around 90 minutes digging the car out, the court heard.

Ms Mangione told the court Rose “cooled down” through this time and drove the car back to Bundaberg where he released the victim.

In the days that followed the offending Rose and the victim exchanged text messages in which Rose told her “are you f--king serious, you deserve everything you got”.

Chris Rose played representative rugby union on the wing for Central Queensland.

The victim sought medical attention a few days after the incident, which found she had sustained bruising to both eyes, a bloody nose and bruising on her arm and neck and abrasions to her ear and back.

A few days later, seven days after the offending, the victim reported Rose to the police.

When approached by police Rose lied about his whereabouts on the day of the offending and rammed a police car while unsuccessfully trying to evade arrest.

Mr Dollar told the court Rose “is an example of what happens when someone becomes involved in dangerous drugs”.

The court heard Rose completed a mechanical apprenticeship with Volkswagen after completing year 12 in Bundaberg, and had also worked on cane farms, as an asbestos supervisor and as a boilermaker.

Rose was a heavy meth user, instructing Mr Dollar that “he never had an ice pipe out of arm’s reach”, and at the height of his addiction he was using around 1g of meth per day, the court heard.

Judge Leanne Clare SC said the “shockingness”, “horror” and “traumatic impact” of Rose’s premeditated offending in driving for an extended period of time with the victim trapped in the boot took his offending beyond impulsive assaults which took place in the home.

“You deliberately made (the victim) think you were going to cause her some extreme harm ... your conduct was terrifying,” Judge Clare told Rose.

Judge Clare ordered Rose serve a head sentence of six years’ imprisonment, with a parole eligibility date of January 31, 2025.

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