‘Filthy rat’: Man’s abusive messages to victim from jail

In a series of abusive phone calls made at the jail, the man was still able to taunt his victim from behind bars.

The court heard the man made a series of calls on May 4 while he was a prisoner at Capricornia Correctional Centre, several of which went to voicemail.

In a series of phone calls made to his estranged partner while he was behind bars, a man called her a “maggot” and a “s**t”, and accused her of being “too busy with her new boyfriend” to talk to him.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to one count of contravening a domestic violence order when he appeared before Maryborough Magistrates Court via videolink on Monday.

The court heard the man made a series of calls on May 4 while he was a prisoner at Capricornia Correctional Centre, several of which went to voicemail.

He left a number of abusive messages, including where he called the woman a “filthy rat”.

When he later spoke to the woman, she allowed him to speak to his daughter, but he used the call to continue to ask harassing questions, the court heard.

He asked his young daughter to ask his partner if she was “over daddy now, are we finished?”

The man then asked his daughter if “any blokes had been around,” to which she replied “no”.

He then told her he would be home soon but “I won’t be staying with you, mummy doesn’t want me back”.

The man later made another call where he called her a “maggot” for separating with him on Facebook and then another where he said he just wanted to see his son and daughter.

The court heard he had 11 previous convictions for contravening a domestic violence order.

Defence lawyer Morgan Harris said the victim remained supportive of the man and they were going to seek to arrange marriage counselling upon his release.

He said his client had shown empathy and remorse for his actions.

Magistrate Graham Hillan said the comments the man made to his partner were “terrible”.

“I can’t believe she’s still lending her support to you after copping that abuse,” he said.

Mr Hillan said the man continually ignored orders made by police, namely the domestic violence orders.

“Courts expect orders to be complied with,” he said.

The man was sentenced to 12 months in prison with parole eligibility set for November 1.

“If you keep on reoffending, you will spend a lot of time in custody,” Mr Hillan said.