Winery worker Stewart Bibby pleads guilty to assaulting woman at Beerwah
A winery worker has avoided serving actual jail time for the cowardly assaults on his former partner over an argument about their children’s room being untidy.
Police & Courts
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A Victorian winery worker will not serve any time in actual custody after he attacked his former partner with a wheelie bin on the Sunshine Coast because their kids' room was too messy.
The mundane reason for the violent assaults at the hands of Stewart Robert Bibby were heard in Maroochydore District Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault.
The court heard both offences took place at Beerwah on April 8, 2022 involving the 53-year-old and his now former partner.
Judge Gary Long said the pair shared three children, who had differing health conditions which contributed to problems in their marriage.
On the day, Judge Long said Bibby became concerned with the lack of tidiness of the children’s room and threatened to throw away their belongings.
The court was told the victim, the children’s mother, helped fix the room up however Bibby, who now lives in the regional Victorian town of Mitre, lost his patience and brought a wheelie bin into their home to throw away their things.
Judge Long said the victim tried to prevent this by standing in the bedroom doorway and protested, saying their children did a good job of cleaning their room.
Bibby persisted with entering the room and rammed the bin into the victim’s legs, however she tried to push back.
The District Court Judge said the 53-year-old then reached across the bin, grabbed her neck and head with both hands and threw her on the floor, which knocked the bin over.
He then pinned her to the ground with his left knee on her chest and held her down by the base of her throat with his hands for a few seconds.
Judge Long said Bibby let her go and had a shower. He returned to the living room where he acted like nothing happened.
The court heard his former wife raised concerns about what he had done, to which he replied he did “nothing wrong”, and said the woman hit him as well.
The District Court Judge said the victim told Bibby to leave the house however he refused. When she reached to get her phone from her purse, Bibby grabbed her from behind and threw her onto her hands and knees, where he struck her multiple times.
Bibby finally stopped and said “you’re not worth it”.
The court was told the woman suffered swelling and bruising to parts of her body, chest, shoulder, back and thighs.
The 53-year-old has since relocated to regional Victoria where he works at a winery.
Defence barrister David Crews said Bibby had completed rehabilitation programs into his offending and had no prior criminal history.
Judge Long said there was an emotional impact on the victim, with Bibby’s former partner now looking after the children.
The District Court Judge however cited how Bibby had been exposed to domestic violence growing up, completed rehabilitation and had good prospects for the future.
Bibby was sentenced to 12 months’ jail, suspended immediately for two years.
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