Man freed after attack leaves pregnant woman in hospital

A SOUTH Burnett man was freed from jail this week after a violent attack left his pregnant ex-partner in hospital.

A man was released on parole after serving 75 days behinds bars for a number of offences, including punching his pregant ex-partner. File Photo.

A PREGNANT woman was left hospitalised for two days after being physically assaulted by her ex-partner in a car, a court heard this week.

On a Monday September 14, a Nanango man pleaded guilty to several charges before Kingaroy Magistrates Court, including contravening a domestic violence order, assaulting his pregnant ex-partner, and breaching a probation order.

On May 12, 2020, the 27-year-old man lashed out at the woman after she refused to give him money, and subsequently, her phone.

“He began calling her names, such as ‘fat wh-re’ and ‘fat sl-t’. The aggrieved has then asked the defendant to leave and the defendant has refused,” police prosecutor Sergeant Pepe Gangemi said.

“He’s picked up a number of objects and thrown them at the aggrieved. He then said words to the effect of ‘I’ll burn down your putrid mothers house’.”

At 1.30pm on May 26, the defendant picked up the aggrieved in a car driven by an associate, before again asking her to hand over her phone.

“He was told no. The defendant has then assaulted the aggrieved a number of times by punching her and also verbally abusing her,” Sgt Gangemi said.

The aggrieved sustained bruising to her shoulder and neck, as well as her right and left arms. She was 27 weeks pregnant at the time of the incident, and as a result of her injuries, was hospitalised for two days.

This offence was committed while the defendant was subject to a 12 month probation order.

Defence lawyer Bonnie Djordjevic said the defendant and complainant were together for a number of years, and both parties have had issues with drugs.

“That resulted in the relationship being quite erratic and volatile, and has lead to violence that does go both ways,” Ms Djordjevic said.

“In relation to the assault occasioning bodily harm, I’m instructed that the complainant and (the defendant) were fighting over money. The complainant had transferred some money from his account into her own account, which is why he was asking for her phone.”

“They argued about it and she spat in his face, which is prior to the assault occurring. He understands that does not excuse his behaviour.”

Ms Djordjevic said her client has now been behind bars for 75 days, between July and September, which have been made more difficult by COVID-19 restrictions.

“The restrictions for the prisons are back in stage 3 due to COVID. That means there are more frequent lockdowns and the prisoners are not receiving any visitors. It’s generally more difficult in the prisons.”

The contravention of the domestic violence order and the assault occasioning bodily harm, which is a domestic violence offence, breached a probation order the defendant was already on, which covered two drug offences, contravening a domestic violence order, and the possession of a knife in a public place.

“Your compliance with the probation order was very minimal. The purpose of putting you on the probation order was to assist you with your drug habit, and to assist you in dealing with your partner in a way that didn’t see you use violence towards her,” Magistrate Andrew Sinclair said.

“Unfortunately for everyone concerned, particularly for you because you’ve ended up in custody and for her because she’s ended up in hospital, you didn’t take much more than token advantage of the support that was offered to you.”

“The court can’t do anything in relation to people who repeatedly attack their partners, when those people are subject to probation orders and domestic violence orders, other than deter you in the only way that works. In this case, nothing has deterred you but a period of imprisonment.”

“It’s dried you out from the drugs and made you think about doing things in a better way.”

In relation to the contravention offence committed on May 12, the defendant was sentenced to three months imprisonment.

For the assault on May 26, resulting in the hospitalisation of the victim, he was sentenced to nine months imprisonment.

For breaching probation, he was convicted and fined $500, and re-sentenced for each offence on the probation order.

For the knife offence, he was convicted and not further punished. For all other offences, he was sentenced to one month in prison.

All periods of imprisonment are concurrent, adding up to a total of nine months. Taking into account the 75 days already served, the defendant was released on parole immediately.

“I’ve made it an immediate parole release because it’s clear to anyone that’s ever been in a prison that when they’re in lockdown, they’re much harder places to serve time.”

The fine has been referred to SPER and all convictions are recorded.

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