Noosa chef Angus Gavin Menkens pleads guilty to offences against ex-girlfriend

A Noosa chef with a history of troublesome breakups has locked his ex-girlfriend in a cupboard and threatened her via text after calling over 150 times within a month.

Angus Gavin Menkens

A Noosa chef who locked his girlfriend in a cupboard while demanding money before calling her over 150 times within a month has faced court on domestic violence charges.

Angus Gavin Menkens, 33, pleaded guilty to deprivation of liberty, common assault and using a telephone service to menace or harass at Noosa Magistrates Court on Tuesday, February 7.

Police prosecutor Allison Johnstone said the assault first occurred when the victim ended a 10-month relationship with Menkens, a chef in Noosaville.

On May 1, 2022 Menkens “unlawfully confined” the victim in a cupboard “against her will” for around two minutes, Sergeant Johnstone told the court.

A victim statement revealed she was “panicked and petrified” throughout the incident and “continually asked to be let out”.

A 25-second mobile phone recording revealed he also demanded her to transfer money to him.

Once she was able to escape, Menkens “forcefully pushed a hard-shell suitcase down a set of stairs” hitting the victim.

Menkens sent “intimidating, horrible accusations and threats” and engaged in “stalking and controlling behaviour” from April 30 to May 30, Sergeant Johnstone said.

The victim received over 150 missed calls and messages from Menkens and was sent nude photos of him asking “do you miss this?”, including one on May 9 where he was holding his penis.

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Sergeant Johnstone told the court another message read “don’t ever go to Bang Bang again, or the Mexican or Sum Yung Guys. I’ll be speaking to them”.

A statement from the victim outlined she suffered “continuous headaches, stress and anxiety due to the harassing calls”.

A psychologist’s report confirmed the victim had ongoing “depression causing fatigue, nervousness and lethargy triggered by a toxic defacto relationship with her ex-boyfriend”.

Sergeant Johnstone said Menkens has a criminal history entry from a similar incident when he caused $7000 in damage to an ex-girlfriend’s property after he broke into and scratched a car, ruined a TV and tore apart a passport in Noosaville on February 21, 2021.

Magistrate Matthew McLaughlin told Menkens he displayed “controlling and obsessive” behaviour and the victim “has been seriously affected by what happened”.

“She has anxiety just shopping and so on, at the thought of running into you, and who would blame her given the nasty way you behaved towards her following the separation,” Magistrate McLaughlin said.

“I think the sentences are deserving of a prison sentence, I don’t think anything else is appropriate.

“I wouldn’t have said that if it hadn’t been for the entries in 2021.”

Menkens was given a three-month sentence suspended for one year.

A conviction was recorded.