Jesse Benjamin West choked and punched his Charters Towers girlfriend over road rage incident

A judge has told a man ‘you don’t treat people that way’ after he choked and punched his long-distance, underage ‘girlfriend’ over her driving manner after she had driven more than 500km to visit him. Read more here.

A man has faced court after he abused a long-distance underage girlfriend for driving too close to a parked car and later choked and punched her.

Jesse Benjamin West, 24, pleaded guilty on August 15 in Rockhampton District Court to one count of choking and one of assault occasioning bodily harm.

Crown prosecutor Matthew Sutton said West formed a relationship with the victim online via social media in late 2020.

He said she travelled more than 500kms from Charters Towers to Ilfracombe, near Longreach, to stay with West.

The offending took place on December 14, 2020, in two linked incidents.

Mr Sutton said the victim drove West and his friend to Longreach and while driving, West “berated” her for driving too close to a parked car.

He said he then pushed her and threatened to assault her.

Mr Sutton said that evening, West argued with the victim, raised his fists and told her to pack her bags.

“When she got up to go to the bedroom, the defendant followed her,” he said.

“He grabbed her around the neck, pinned her to a wall by the throat for a few minutes while calling her derogatory names.

“The defendant threw her on the bed, straddled her and then grabbed at her breasts, buttocks and groin over her clothes.

“She pushed his hands away and turned.

“The defendant punched her once in each buttock, leaving a bruise.”

Mr Sutton said the victim complained to police and when they spoke with West about a month later, he denied the offending and having a relationship with the victim.

He said West even berated the victim during a phone call, which police recorded.

Defence barrister Scott Moon said West, who is a twin and has an older brother, had since been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, borderline intellectual functioning, borderline personality traits and substance use disorder.

Jesse Benjamin West.

He said West reported drinking alcohol and using marijuana as young as 12 years old and was intoxicated by both at the time of the offending.

Mr Moon said the specialist’s report provided to the court outlined it wasn’t that his client was denying the offending, he just had difficulty verbalising what had happened.

He said West’s father’s death had such a devastating impact on his mental wellbeing that he jumped out of a school’s second-storey window and held a pencil to his neck the first day back at school afterwards, and years later, when he was 18, he put a firearm to his head.

Mr Moon said his client had been working for Schwarz Excavations and had previously worked as a station hand at Paradise Lagoons, west of Rockhampton, and later in the Kimberley region in Western Australia.

Judge Katherine McGinness said West’s behaviour towards the victim was appalling.

“You don’t treat people that way,” she said.

“Choking is a very dangerous and degrading act.

“You can cause physical harm to someone, sometimes death; even if you don’t intend for that to occur.”

Judge McGinness sentenced West to two years prison, suspended after serving 121 days with an operational period of two years, and declared 121 days presentence custody as time served.

She also placed him on probation for 18 months.

Convictions were recorded.