Joshua James Disney admits attacking injured woman in Hervey Bay
A man who dragged his wheelchair-bound partner across gravel and threatened to put her in a "body bag" has been sentenced to three years in jail with immediate parole eligibility.
The dark and disturbing criminal history of a man who bashed his vulnerable partner after she was seriously injured in a car crash was laid bare as he was sentenced in Hervey Bay District Court.
Joshua James Disney, 28, pleaded guilty to wilful damage and four counts of assault occasioning bodily harm when he faced court on Thursday.
Crown prosecutor Emily Coley said Disney had “quite a serious criminal history,” particularly for assault occasioning bodily harm and serious assault.
His first time in the district court was for a serious assault on a nurse when he was 19 years old, spitting at her and earning himself nine months parole.
He was back before the district court on May 4, 2023, in relation to an assault on a man he knew.
Ms Coley said there had been a scuffle and Disney had formed the view that he needed to defend himself, although excessively, and it had involved the use of a pair of secateurs, which injured the other man’s mouth and knocked out his teeth.
Judge Paul Smith sentenced Disney to 15 months jail for the assault and six months for the attempted theft charges, to be served concurrently.
His 249 days in presentence custody were considered time served and the sentence was suspended.
Disney came before the court again for assault occasioning bodily harm while armed.
That involved a dispute with another man. Disney had fired a makeshift gun and a projectile struck the person in the chest.
“So again that was quite a serious example of an assault occasioning bodily harm,” Ms Coley said.
Disney was also before the court for unlawful wounding.
The court heard there had been a dispute with another man over some money and a physical confrontation ensued where Disney stabbed the man in the chest.
There had been a penetrating wound and a lower lung pulmonary laceration, but ultimately the injury resolved itself, Ms Coley said.
In relation to the current offending, Ms Coley said the couple had been involved in a car crash in which the woman had broken her pelvis and hip.
She had been hospitalised for two weeks, before she discharged herself.
About three weeks later on June 7, 2024, she and Disney were staying at a Urangan resort and the woman wanted to leave.
Disney told the woman she was making him angry and he hit the wheel of her wheelchair with a machete, causing the wheel to pop off.
The woman also had crutches and she used them to try to get up, but fell over.
Disney again made comments about how she was making him angry.
He left and she called a taxi, going outside in her wheelchair, but Disney returned and told her to get inside, Ms Coley said.
He grabbed her by her hoodie and dragged her out of the wheelchair, and along the gravel, causing scrapes to her knees and pain.
Photos of the injuries were submitted to the court.
A woman came out and intervened, telling Disney to stop, Ms Coley said.
Disney then put the woman on his scooter and took her to a friend’s unit where he lied about her injuries, saying she had fallen off the scooter.
The woman was crying and in pain, Ms Coley said.
On a separate occasion, the woman asked Disney if she could go to the bathroom and he punched her in the face, causing bruising to her left eye.
The next day she left the house on a bike and Disney chased after her.
He told her never to try to leave him and the woman was on her knees with her hands protecting her head, Ms Coley said.
Disney punched her nose, which bled, and there was also a split about her eye.
Photos of those injuries were also submitted to the court.
The woman said she wanted to go home as she’d had enough of being hit.
“He told her ‘you’re not leaving me unless you’re in a body bag’,” Ms Coley said.
An ambulance and police were called and the woman covered for Disney out of fear, giving a fake name for him to police, Ms Coley said.
The following day she was in contact with Disney, who apologised to her but said she had made him do it “by the way she was acting”.
The woman moved back in with him into another friend’s unit but that night when she woke up to use the toilet Disney also woke up and he punched her in the lip and under her eye.
The woman eventually left in a taxi to go to her uncle’s home and later made a complaint to police.
Disney did an interview with police, admitting some things but denying the violence, saying that if he had beaten her she would have “had worse injuries”.
He blamed the woman for her injuries, telling police they were a result of self-harm.
The court heard Disney was still a relatively young person and a substantial period of his 20s had been spent in custody for violent crimes.
While in custody he did a course addressing substance abuse and anger management issues, developing a level of insight into his offending, the court heard.
Disney had experienced a dysfunctional and prejudicial upbringing, effectively growing up on the streets, and had a hard time expressing exactly what he went through as a child.
He had support from his grandfather and had recently reconnected with his mother, the court heard.
The court was told there was some “cautious reason for optimism” in Disney’s case which perhaps hadn’t been there in the past.
Judge Terry Gardiner said while there was no victim impact statement, he was completely satisfied it would have been a frightening assault on the victim.
Disney was given a head sentence of three years in prison and the 210 days he had spent in pre-sentence custody were taken into account.
He was given immediate parole eligibility.
