Justin Robert Cragg faces Bundaberg District Court

A truck driver, who choked his partner so badly she ‘saw stars’, has been sentenced in court with his victim standing by him.

A night out for a mother of three ended in a terrifying act of violence when her partner attacked her until she was ‘seeing stars’.

Truck driver Justin Robert Cragg, 31, appeared in Bundaberg District Court on Monday charged with one count of common assault and one count of choking (aggravated offence).

The court heard on March 6, 2021, Cragg’s partner of three years sent him a text asking him to pick her up at 9:45pm after a night of drinking.

Cragg didn’t respond, but called her back and abused her.

At 10:10pm, she arrived home, vomited in the backyard and sat on the lounge chair because she felt ill.

Cragg became agitated that she went out drinking and yelled that he “hated her”.

As she got up to walk away, he pushed her down on the floor twice, hurting her elbows and knees as she was called a “s***”.

While on the ground, she grabbed her phone and misdialed triple-zero before Cragg took the phone off her.

She crawled away from Cragg who continued to yell at her before he grabbed her by the throat and pushed her up against a box in the hallway.

According to her statement, Cragg told her she was “going to drive him crazy” and choked her until she “couldn’t breathe”, “saw stars” and thought she was “going to die”.

She managed to leave the house and Cragg followed her out.

She returned to the house safely and locked herself in a room before he returned sometime later.

Police arrived later that night to find she had difficulty swallowing and had bruising and abrasions to her right elbow and arm.

She was taken to Bundaberg Hospital where she was diagnosed with a contusion to her neck and cuts and abrasions.

Cragg participated in an interview with police, but the crown didn’t accept his version of events that his partner initiated the violence.

His lawyer, Nick Larter, told the court Cragg’s behaviour changed after his father passed away when he was 12.

Mr Larter also said Cragg and his partner were back together and had since relocated to Toowoomba and found work.

“He’s an interstate truck driver, making around a thousand dollars a week,” Mr Larter said.

“It’s been 12 months since the offending and he hasn’t engaged in any more.”

He said Cragg had undergone “a very intense” men’s behavioural rehabilitation program through Edon Place to address his aggressive behaviour.

“He says he found it very instructive,” Mr Larter said.

“He engaged with a number of services in Bundaberg and a general practitioner gave him a referral to a psychiatrist where he was then medicated with Ritalin.”

Justin Robert Cragg, 31, pleaded guilty.

Judge Nathan Jarro told Cragg what he did was “inherently dangerous”.

He reminded Cragg women should be able to feel safe in their own home.

“Under no circumstance should any woman be subjected to violence at the hands of a man,” he said.

“It was, in my view, a cowardly act.”

Judge Jarro took into consideration that Cragg had no relevant history, his rehabilitation efforts since the attack and that he pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

He also had regard to the fact his partner had supported him in court and wrote a positive letter detailing how the rehabilitation benefited him.

“It made a huge impact according to her assessment of you,” Judge Jarro said.

“This is a very serious offence, but I’m going to give you the opportunity, on this occasion, to see you serve the sentence immediately in the community.”

Cragg was sentenced to two years jail for choking and nine months for common assault with immediate parole.

Convictions were recorded.

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