Young children witness dad’s shocking assault on mum
The Southern Downs father claimed the cries of his kids, aged 2 and 1, stopped the violence after he ‘just snapped’.
Stanthorpe
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A Southern Downs man has avoided jail after pleading guilty to assaulting his ex-partner in a violent dispute in front of their children, aged two and one.
The father, who can’t be named for legal reasons, and his ex got into a heated argument at their Warwick home on March 4.
Tensions escalated until he grabbed her by the jumper and shoved her back into the kitchen sink, Warwick Magistrates Court heard.
The couple’s young children watched from only a few feet away, and it was their cries that stopped the violence.
Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa said the zipper on the woman’s jumper cut her face during the “very serious” incident.
The 29-year-old Warwick man then tried to contact his ex-partner on August 23 and 24 to ask her to withdraw the charge against him, which breached the domestic violence order in place.
Defence lawyer Clare Hine told the court her client’s five-year relationship with the woman was “at boiling point” during the March argument, and the man “just snapped”.
Ms Hine added the full-time retail employee only reached out to his partner after she initiated contact, allowing him to speak to the children and visiting his workplace.
“I have no excuse for it, I have all the remorse in the world for it, and I replay it over and over every day – all I hear in my head is the girls crying and telling me to stop,” Ms Hine read on behalf of her client.
The man’s mother, current girlfriend, and manager supported him in the courtroom.
Acting magistrate Rob Turra condemned the man’s role in perpetuating “insidious” domestic violence, though said the offending was “out of character” given his lack of recent criminal history.
The man pleaded guilty to one count each of assault occasioning bodily harm and contravening a domestic violence order.
He was sentenced to 12 months’ jail, wholly suspended for 18 months.
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