Billy Jack Crowley in Gympie court for drink driving

A man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman and punching her in the head landed in Gympie District Court for driving while he was “highly intoxicated”.

Billy-Jack Crowley outside Gympie District Court on October 22, 2021.

A man who was convicted of sexually and physically assaulting a woman simultaneously breached his suspended sentence when he was caught driving more than four times the limit.

Billy Jack Crowley, 41, appeared in Gympie District Court on February 9 for breaching the conditions of his suspended sentence one year into the order.

Crown prosecutor Michael Andronicus told the court Crowley was pulled over for a roadside breath test when he was driving on Red Hill Rd in Gympie on October 8, 2022.

He blew 0.214, more than four times the legal limit, the court heard.

Mr Andronicus said it was the first breach since the order was handed down in October 2021.

Crowley was sentenced to 12 months’ prison suspended for two years and given two years’ probation on October 22, 2021 for sexual assault and common assault against a woman.

On March 21, 2019, Crowley, who was 37 at the time, drunkenly arrived on the doorstep of the house of a woman he knew and demanded oral sex.

The woman refused but Crowley continued attempting to dominate her and pressure her into sex, the court heard during his appearance in 2021.

Before police arrived, Crowley left the house and walked towards the victim’s elderly neighbours’ house and as the victim tried to stop him, Crowley punched her twice on either side of her head.

Judge Glenn Cash told the court probation officers had identified substance abuse as a “factor in his criminal behaviour”.

Defence barrister Simone Bain said “substance abuse issues had been the subject of their conference” with Crowley and he had seen a counsellor a number of times to address the issue.

Crowley’s suspended sentence was to end on October 23, 2023 but Mr Cash extended the order by six months.