Gatton man in court for stalking ex, threats to ‘skin daughter alive’

A relentless DV stalker who called his ex more than 6000 times in four months told the woman he would “skin [her] daughter alive from head to toe”. WARNING: GRAPHIC

Gatton man in court for stalking ex, threats to ‘skin daughter alive’

A Gatton man has faced sentenced for a four-month campaign of terror in which he persistently harassed his ex-girlfriend and made “grossly disturbing” threats to harm her children and share her intimate images.

Gatton archery shop worker Robert Stanley Woolacott, 40, pleaded guilty in Ipswich District Court on November 8, 2022, to unlawful stalking (DV), threatening to distribute intimate images (DV) and threatening violence (DV).

The court heard the offences all occurred over the span of almost four months last year, in which Woolacott harassed an ex-girlfriend by making persistent and threatening calls.

Crown prosecutor Jacqueline Malouf said Woolacott called the woman a total of 6122 times, often from a private number, and often very early in the morning or late at night.

“He caused her to be extremely fearful … they were often threatening in nature,” she said.

Ms Malouf quoted some of Woolacott’s threats, including, “I’ve got friends everywhere, I had someone following you home from work and you didn’t realise it”.

“You’ll never see your kids ever again – even if I have to be the one to take them, you won’t hurt me, I’ll f--king hurt you,” she continued.

Woolacott also told her the police had “no f--king chance in hell” of finding him, and threatened to send intimate images of her to her colleagues.

On one occasion, while the woman was providing a statement at a police station, Woolacott called her 58 times and emailed her three times in the span of 25 minutes.

Ms Malouf said the woman hid in her closet for 25 minutes that evening, thinking Woolacott’s car was outside, before she realised that it wasn’t him and, around midnight that same night, Woolacott sent her a threatening email with a photo attached taken from her workplace website.

The day before he was arrested, Woolacott sent the woman a number of threatening emails which escalated to threats including, “I swear I will string you up and make you watch me skin your daughter alive from head to toe”.

He also told her “If you think I haven’t followed you home to see where you live, you are fooling yourself. You know me, and you do know what I do”.

Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren pointed out the last threat was particularly concerning.

“When this man makes those threats to a woman who does know his history … it’s not an idle threat … it’s inherently more serious,” he said.

“It’s not just ‘I will do this’; it‘s ‘I will do this and you know’”.

Ms Malouf outlined Woolacott’s extensive history of domestic violence offending – spanning more than 15 years.

She said Woolacott had committed a range of offences against different ex-girlfriends, in which he made threats including that he would “hunt down and kill” one woman and that the only way he would leave another’s house was “death or jail”.

He had similarly harassed his other ex-partners by repeatedly contacting them from custody, and had also made physical threats to multiple women while grabbing their throats.

Ms Malouf said a previous parole report concluded Woolacott was unsuitable for further community-based orders due to his poor performance.

Defence barrister Allana Davie said Woolacott had been working and engaging with mental health services throughout his 327 days of pre-sentence custody.

Judge Horneman-Wren said Woolacott’s offending was “grossly disturbing” and noted Woolacott had admitted to having issues will alcohol and drugs in the past.

Woolacott ultimately received a head sentence of four years imprisonment, with his 327 days presentence custody declared time-served.

His parole eligibility date was set for April 16, 2023, and he was taken back into custody.