Jonathan Pooley pleads guilty to attempting to pervert course of justice

An apprentice mechanic, who tried to convince a woman to drop serious allegations against his brother in exchange for a reward, has fronted court.

A young Curra mechanic has avoided further jail time after trying to make his rapist brother’s victim drop her story and instead say she was hurt when she slipped over.

Jonathan William Francis Pooley, 20, was one of several people involved in the attempt to convince the woman to retract her claims, Gympie District Court heard.

The woman had accused Pooley’s brother, Rema Henry John Pooley, of serious crimes including assault.

Rema pleaded guilty to dozens of charges including rape, common assault, and assault occasioning bodily harm in September, 2021.

He was sentenced to seven years’ jail, and will be eligible for parole in May.

Gympie District Court heard Rema, who was behind bars at the time, had his then 18-year-old brother, Jonathan, forward letters to the victim and contact her through Facebook, where she had blocked Rema’s account.

Jonathan William Francis Pooley. Photo: Facebook

This was acted on during a two-month period from 21 January, 2020 to March 5, 2020.

Jonathan Pooley pleaded guilty this week to a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, along with charges of assaulting a person aged 60 years or older while armed with a weapon, and wilful damage.

These latter two charges stemmed from an incident at Nahrunda on June 4, 2020.

Pooley was part of a group of people involved in the attack, during which a younger co-offender threw a star picket at the victim.

The court heard Pooley’s involvement was limited to throwing rocks at the man, and his home.

Crown prosecutor Alex Stark told the court, in a phone conversation between Rema and Jonathan on January 27, 2020, the older brother offered Jonathon “money or a car” if he could get the victim to alter or withdraw her complaint.

Rema Henry John Pooley, 31 and Jonathan Pooley’s brother, pleaded guilty to dozens of offences in Brisbane District Court relating to the assault and rape of his then partner.

Judge Glen Cash noted Pooley had no criminal history at the time of these offences.

He had subsequently been sentenced to an intensive correction order and community service for later crimes, though.

Pooley, who represented himself, told the court he had been exposed to people who abused drugs and alcohol when he was a child.

He now worked as an apprentice diesel mechanic at the Port of Brisbane, and had a two-month-old child with his new partner.

Pooley told Judge Cash he had not finished the alcohol program he undertook for the correction order as he “didn’t like the people he was hanging around with at the meeting”, but he was close to finishing his community service.

Judge Cash noted in the time since he had committed crimes Pooley “seemed to have turned your life around” and “smartened up””.

He sentenced Pooley to nine months’ jail, noting he had already served 76 days behind bars on remand for his part in the assault at Nahrunda.

Pooley was released immediately, with the remainder of the sentence suspended for the next year.