Luke John Coleman labelled ‘bully and thug’ over domestic violence

A violent man burst into his former partner’s house in what has been described as a ‘home invasion’ and repeatedly called her a prostitute while assaulting her.

A woman was forced to stand in front of a mirror and “confess she was a prostitute” when her former partner entered the home he was banned from without permission.

Luke John Coleman, 29, surprised the woman in her house while she was getting ready for work one day, offering her a lift to work before squirting a bottle of baby oil all over her.

Magistrate Damien Dwyer, detailing the facts in Mackay Magistrates Court, said this caused an argument and Coleman pushed the woman in the back of the neck onto her bed.

“While lying facedown on the bed, you hit her repeatedly with both fists to her back and once to her lip. She felt immediate pain,” he said.

“While on her bed, you reached under the skirt she was wearing grabbed hold of her underwear and ripped them off her, you then accused her of being a prostitute, and then picked up a pizza box and cigarette packages and threw the contents over the bedroom floor.

“You then grabbed her forcefully and walked her to the mirror in the bedroom, and then told her she had to look in the mirror and confess she was a prostitute.”

Mr Dwyer said it was the third time Coleman had turned up at the woman’s house and assaulted her, including placing his hand over her mouth in a way that she had difficulty breathing for about a minute.

He labelled Coleman ‘a bully and a thug’ and told him society did not tolerate his behaviour when he sentenced him for 17 offences including entering a premises to commit an offence, three counts of breaching a domestic violence order, two counts of dangerous driving, two counts of evade police as well as other driving and drug charges.

Luke John Coleman has been jailed for 18 months. Picture: Facebook

Mr Dwyer said there had been an escalation in Coleman’s offending

“Now he has become violent,” he said.

“This is not only an attack on a partner, it’s a home invasion.

“This woman was in her own home, on a number of occasions he came to her home and attacked her to the extent that on a number of occasions she’s had to lock herself into a bathroom to get (Coleman) to desist from the attack.

“It’s not going to continue.”

Luke John Coleman has been disqualified from driving for five years. Picture: Facebook

Solicitor Paul Broughton said Coleman was educated to Year 12 in Mackay and had worked in a variety of positions since then.

He said his client had a seven-year-old daughter living with her mother in Western Australia and he had plans to take up a job opportunity in Hervey Bay once he was released from jail.

Mr Broughton said Coleman, a drug addict, was invited to the woman’s home on one of the occasions he attended but he quickly withdrew from making further submissions after the magistrates’s response.

“You say it was to smoke drugs, that makes it worse,” Mr Dwyer said.

“It doesn’t matter whose invitation it was; going to a place where you are banned to take part in illegal, illicit drug taking, that’s very serious.”

Mr Dwyer told Coleman he himself needed to look in a mirror “to see what a mug you are to stuff it all up” before sentencing him to 18 months in jail for breaching a domestic violence order three times in a month and nine months for the related enter premises to commit a crime offence.

He said the two dangerous driving offences were at the bottom of the scale, each receiving six months disqualification from driving.

Each of the evasion offences attracted two years disqualification.

Because each of the driving bans must be served cumulatively, Coleman cannot get behind the wheel of a car for five years.

Mr Dwyer declared 154 days as time served and ordered a parole release date on July 7 after Coleman has served 12 months.

He said the sentence should deter Coleman and others from similar offending and make it clear the community denounced the conduct.

“Domestic violence is an insidious, prevalent and serious problem in our society,” he said, quoting from another judgment.

“Victims are often too ashamed to publicly complain.

“Domestic violence has a deleterious ongoing impact not only on the immediate victim … but ultimately on the whole of society.

“The cost to the community in terms of lost income, productivity, medical, psychological and ongoing social problems is immense.

“Society will not tolerate this behaviour.

“Enough is enough.

“You went there when you were not allowed to go there and you committed violence on a number of occasions.

“We will not tolerate you using your fists on your partner.”