Kingaroy Magistrates Court: Adrian Hancox sentenced for avalanche of online abuse, breaching bail

A Nanango man who harassed a woman for months, including at one point telling her, “I’ll burn you alive one day”, laughed as his litany of vile messages were read to a South Burnett court. Full details:

A Nanango man who harassed a woman for months with an avalanche of online abuse, including threats of “I’ll burn you alive one day”, laughed as his horrifying messages were read aloud in court.

When police executed a search warrant at Adrian Hancox’s property in October 2021, they discovered dozens of messages and recording sent to a woman on a Samsung tablet, ranging from sexually explicit content to telling her to kill herself.

The 37-year-old laughed as police prosecutor Sergeant Lisa Manns read some of the vile messages to the court, which started in April when he told her to come “serve” him in some “hot f--king lingerie”.

Other messages sent between April and August 2021 read:

“Kill yourself you f--king b-tch, kill yourself you f--king wh-re. Go die you f--king b-tch.”

“I have some s-x-perience sweetheart. Wanna have s-x?”

“Go kill yourself b-tch. You stupid little wh-re. I’ll burn you alive one day if you don’t kill me first. You deserve it.”

Other messages include photographs of Hancox holding his genitalia.

Adrian Hancox .

Lawyer Jay Rose said Hancox claimed he would have stopped harassing the victim if she’s told him to, adding it took place while Hancox lived in Nanango and the victim in Sydney.

She said her client had also been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia.

“He believes his schizophrenia is also paranoid schizophrenia, which would explain some of the messages that he didn’t believe were that menacing or harassing,” Ms Rose said.

“So it’s within that lens he sent those and had no intention to upset the (victim).”

Hancox pleaded guilty to three counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, contravening a police direction, and breaking a bail condition.

He was sentenced to three months’ jail, which was suspended on a $2000 good behaviour bond, and placed on two years’ probation.