Andrew James Cougan in court for grievous harm, domestic violence

A Gympie man with a history of multiple domestic violence offences has been jailed after punching a woman so hard she needed brain surgery.

A 37-year-old man will remain behind bars until early 2024 after punching a woman in the head so hard she suffered a “traumatic” brain injury, and then trying to get her to recant her story.

Gympie District Court heard Andrew James Cougan had been with the woman, who he had been seeing, on the night of March 5, 2022 when he attacked her after she’d driven to Gympie to meet up with him.

After taking a taxi to the Mount Pleasant Hotel, Cougan became agitated and asked the woman for $50 to buy ice.

When she refused, the court was told he stood up and “slammed her head into a table”.

Gympie District Court heard Andrew James Cougan, 37, tried to have his victim recant her complaint to police after he was arrested, telling her to instead say she tripped and hit her head on the ground.

They left the hotel, upon which further conflict between them ensued to the point they eventually went their separate ways after a good Samaritan intervened.

But as she walked back to the hotel where she was staying, she ran into Cougan once more, the court was told.

It was during this encounter he struck her in the head, knocking her out.

After shaking her and telling her to wake up, the pair returned to her hotel room.

Two days later, on March 7, she reported to the Bundaberg Hospital with dizziness and collapsed in the clinic.

A CT scan found her injuries included a brain bleed 3mm deep, bruising to the brain, and a “significant” shift in the midline of her brain to the right.

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Burr holes had to be drilled into her skull to drain fluid and relieve pressure of the injury, which Judge Bernard Porter said “could have caused death” if left unchecked.

She remained in hospital for more than two weeks.

Cougan was arrested, and the court heard in May he had a third party dial the victim into a conference call he was on.

During this call he tried to get the woman to change her story, saying he needed her to “go to the cop shop and say you tripped and hit your head on the ground”.

She refused.

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Andrew James Cougan pleaded guilty on Thursday to grievous bodily harm, wilful damage, and attempting to pervert the course of justice, all domestic violence offences, and a charge related to bringing the victim into an approved telephone call.

The court heard Cougan had problems with alcohol and methamphetamine abuse.

He pleaded guilty on Thursday to grievous bodily harm, wilful damage, and attempting to pervert the course of justice, all domestic violence offences, and a charge related to bringing the victim into an approved telephone call.

In handing down his sentence, Mr Porter highlighted Cougan’s criminal history of domestic violence dating back to 2010.

The court heard these included separate incidents in which he had punched one partner in the head twice, causing her nose to bleed, and punching another in the mouth while she was asleep.

He only received fines for these offences.

Mr Porter said it was not his place to criticise the magistrates at the time, but he said those sentences did seem to be “merciful”.

On another occasion, Cougan was given six months’ probation after shoving a woman to the ground during a fight over a shirt, the court was told.

Mr Porter further noted Cougan had only shown remorse in “very general terms”, and after spending almost 17 months in custody.

This had been Cougan’s first stint behind bars despite his history of offending.

He sentenced Cougan to six years jail for the grievous bodily harm charge, and then added another year for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

He declared Cougan had already served 504 days of pre-sentence custody, and gave him a parole eligibility date of March 16, 2024.