Revealed: Patterns behind Warwick’s insidious domestic violence plague
From strangulation to stalking and more, these are the terrifying crimes Warwick residents suffer at the hands of domestic violence perpetrators and why advocates fear current services are not enough. SEE THE LIST OF OFFENDERS:
Police & Courts
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Domestic violence remains one of the most prevalent and insidious crimes within the Warwick community, with residents facing terrifying acts from stalking to strangulation and more.
As lockdowns and other pressures throughout the Covid pandemic drove a spike in violence within the home, Queensland courts saw more than 38,000 new domestic violence orders created within just 12 months.
She said Covid restrictions and a lack of funding for domestic violence services were proving the biggest barriers to addressing the root cause and helping survivors safely move forward with their lives.
“We certainly know that there’s been an escalation in domestic violence during lockdowns, and that has been very difficult for some families.
“The services are trying to deal with that as best they can, but there’s not enough funding in the services to cope with the demand and have enough people to answer the phones, so then people get frustrated.
“It is particularly difficult when there’s children involved, of course. Just recently they’d have had to start school, get uniforms, and all of that sort of thing when they may have just left a house or something like that.”
She said the Safe Haven committee was working closely with The Lighthouse Community Centre to provide emergency accommodation and supplies for those fleeing domestic violence, and the group had in recent weeks replenished their supply of hotline directory cards at doctor surgeries, hairdressers, and other businesses across Warwick.
Recent changes to domestic violence legislation include the introduction of choking, suffocation, and strangulation charges in 2016.
Support workers across the region told the Daily News at the time that strangulation was often premeditated and the final assault before a victim was killed, but held hope the new laws would show perpetrators the behaviour was unacceptable.
The threat of legal consequences as serious as jail time have done little to reduce or stop the number of domestic violence offenders brought before the Warwick courts each week, and few of those convicted have served any actual time behind bars.
See below some of the most shocking examples of domestic violence to come through the region’s courts recently:
Serial offender walks free after pleading guilty to choking, suffocating partner
A repeat domestic violence offender was given immediate release on parole after smothering and threatening to stab his former girlfriend in a terrifying assault in their home.
The then-30-year-old flew into a rage after an argument with the woman in October 2019, smashing a door frame with a hammer and screaming at his victim before biting her and taking her phone to stop her calling the police.
Crown prosecutor Zachary Kaplan told Warwick District Court the man tried twice to smother the woman with a pillow, choked her with two extension cords until she almost lost consciousness, and gagged her with socks while swinging a knife at her.
The man appeared in court with an extensive and violent criminal history including assault, robbery, and domestic violence.
He pleaded 13 serious charges including suffocation and strangulation in a domestic setting, assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, and attempted arson.
Man jailed for terrorising ex and her new partner in home invasion
A Warwick father was ordered to serve only months behind bars after pleading guilty to a terrifying home invasion in which he punched his ex-partner in the face while she was holding their baby.
The man forced his way inside the house one night in March 2020, punching the woman’s new partner in the face before barricading his other victim in a room and berating her for ending their relationship.
Warwick District Court heard the woman was at one point able to retrieve the couple’s child and tried to flee in a car, but the man chased her down and got in the car beside her.
The 22-year-old then punched the woman in the face twice while she was holding their baby, at one point knocking her unconscious, and hit her again through the car window when she tried to drive away.
He pleaded guilty to charges including burglary at night with violence and in company, assault occasioning bodily harm while in company, and contravening a domestic violence order.
He was sentenced to two and a half years’ jail, to be suspended after he served four months, and placed on probation for three years.
Man blames drugs and ‘serious misjudgment’ for horrifying assault on partner
An argument between a man and his partner over the woman’s dog damaging their spa escalated into a violent assault that almost landed the attacker behind bars.
The 51-year-old kicked down the bedroom door and dragged his victim over to the window, then pushed her face into a bedside table three times.
Police prosecutor Ken Wiggan told Warwick Magistrates Court the woman begged him to stop and locked him out of the room, but he soon forced his way back inside to drag her off the bed and eventually threw the woman to the ground, grabbing her by the hair and banging her head against the floor several times.
Defence lawyer Amber Acreman said the man’s offending was fuelled by alcohol and an unknown drug he’d taken at a party earlier that evening, and a domestic violence order had since been put in place.
The man pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and wilful damage.
Warwick dad walks free after assaulting ex-partner in front of children
A father was given a wholly-suspended jail sentence after assaulting his ex in a violent dispute in front of their children, aged two and one at the time.
The 29-year-old and his woman were arguing in the kitchen when the man grabbed her by the jumper and shoved her back into the kitchen sink, with the zipper on her clothing cutting her face.
Warwick Magistrates Court heard the couple’s young children watched from only a few feet away and it was their cries that stopped their father’s violence.
It was only a few months later that the man tried to contact his victim in an attempt to have the charge withdrawn, breaching the domestic violence order that had since been created.
The Warwick man pleaded guilty to one count each of assault occasioning bodily harm and contravening a domestic violence order.
Man stalks wife for months after marriage breakdown
A Warwick man who stalked his wife for months following the breakdown of their 24-year marriage narrowly avoided time behind bars.
The 50-year-old took his wife hostage on a drive around their property in February 2019, verbally abusing her and throwing her phone to the ground to stop her from calling the police.
Warwick Magistrates Court heard the man followed and harassed his ex and their two adult children repeatedly in the following months, undeterred by the ankle monitor he was required to wear after being convicted of a string of domestic violence offences the year prior.
The man pleaded guilty to a string of charges including unlawful stalking, contravening a domestic violence order, breaching bail, and obstructing police.
He was sentenced to 15 months’ jail with immediate release on parole, and was also placed on probation for 18 months and fined $850.
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