Nathan Eric McCracken pleads guilty to strangulation, assault

A man who choked and stomped on a former partner after an innocent question about his van has learnt his fate in court. DETAILS

Nathan McCracken.

A man who choked and assaulted a former partner several times before telling her he could “kill her” if he wanted has learnt his fate in court.

Nathan Eric McCracken, a 47-year-old boilermaker, pleaded guilty to two counts of strangulation, one count of wilful damage, one count of assault occasioning bodily harm, and two counts of common assault in Bundaberg District Court.

He also pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault which was later dropped by the prosecution.

During a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, December 11, the court heard McCracken had previously been convicted of stalking and intending to cause harm to an individual.

The most recent offending began in January 2023, three months after McCracken was granted parole on other charges, when his former partner asked a “seemingly innocent” question about the whereabouts of his van.

The court heard McCracken strangled the woman for three minutes, at which point the victim was foaming at the mouth and felt she might defecate.

McCracken then threw the woman to the ground and stomped on her ribs, saying “I f*****g told you not to start s***”.

A month later, McCracken made comments to the woman about wanting to assault her daughter.

Judge David Kent said “an argument understandably ensued”.

The court heard McCracken slashed an inflatable mattress before dragging his victim to the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens.

There, he smashed the woman’s phone to the ground before throwing her onto a concrete footpath where she hit her head.

While on the ground, McCracken held the woman down by the neck and restricted her breathing for two to three minutes.

The court heard McCracken said “I could kill you if I wanted”.

“I’m old school,” he said.”

The woman suffered swelling to her forehead and bruising to her left eye, and she was eventually able to flag down a passing truck driver who called police.

Judge Kent told the court the woman went to Bundaberg Base Hospital “partly to get away” from McCracken and, while her injuries were noted, she did not receive treatment.

McCracken’s defence argued the severity of the strangulation was not serious considering there was no recorded injury on the first charge and no treatment was received on the second strangulation charge.

At the time of his latest offending, McCracken had been out on parole for separate violent assault and breach charges, an element Judge Kent said would weigh heavily on sentencing.

The court heard in a written statement from correctional officers that McCracken had failed to engage positively with rehabilitation services, claiming he did not think he had a drinking problem.

In handing down his sentence, Judge Kent advised McCracken should consider “never drinking again”.

McCracken was sentenced to three years and three months in prison.

Judge Kent declared 305 days of custody as time served, and McCracken will be eligible for parole on April 9, 2025.