Warwick DV shame: Judge’s chilling warning as man jailed for suffocating, strangling partner in frightening attacks

A man who suffocated and strangled his partner has been slapped with a jail sentence and ominous warning about his future, as a string of domestic violence offenders front Warwick courts over their crimes. See the full list:

A serial domestic violence offender has been jailed for two and a half years after suffocating and strangling his partner, pulling her hair and shoving her into furniture in a string of frightening attacks.

Matthew Mark Rouen pounced on his then-partner during an argument in May last year, where he put his hands over her mouth and nose and left her unable to breathe.

In two subsequent attacks during December that year, Rouen grabbed the woman by the throat and choked her until she couldn’t breathe, pulled her hair and shoved her into a bed frame.

The Warwick District Court was told the 33-year-old had a history of domestic violence, and in 2019 was sentenced for pushing in the neck of his former partner. He was also jailed at the time for drug offences.

Judge Dennis Lynch warned the Stanthorpe man he risked a bleak future and more stints behind bars, saying the community demanded a tough approach to domestic violence offending due to the deadly dangers.

“We all understand how common (domestic violence) is in the community, and the community has more recently made efforts to try to deal with that problem,” he said.

“These provisions (were) placed into our criminal law because of the prevalence of this conduct, and the research indicating it can be a precursor to domestic homicide.

“If you want to avoid spending long times in jail - not just for this offence but in future - you have to modify your behaviour.

“There’s no reason you can’t return to the community and be a decent, hardworking parent, and a good parent and role model for your daughter, but you’re no sort of role model if you’re in and out of jail or committing acts of domestic violence.”

Barrister Frank Martin said his client was well-regarded in his community and had struggled with the separation from his young daughter while in custody.

Rouen, who has been in police custody since his arrest on Christmas Eve last year, pleaded guilty to one count each of suffocation and strangulation in a domestic setting, assault occasioning bodily harm and common assault.

He was sentenced to two and a half years’ jail, with a parole release date set for August 23, 2022.

In other domestic violence court news:

A Warwick man who denied being at his ex’s home despite being spotted by several eyewitnesses has fronted court.

Officers were called to the woman’s home in the evening of March 1, 2020, where they saw one of the Warwick man’s friends in the yard, where he claimed he was there to collect some of the man’s personal belongings.

Police prosecutor Andrew Grafton told the Warwick court the 42-year-old, who cannot be named, was found at the property only a short while later, telling officers he was allowed to be at the house so long as his ex-partner was not.

“Witnesses saw him standing in the shed near the backyard, but he continued to deny it,” Sergeant Grafton said.

“(He said) he knew they weren’t home because their car wasn’t where it was usually parked. Although (she) was not home at the time, (he) had no way to confirm this without attending the address.”

The Warwick court heard the domestic violence order had only been put in place the day before the offending.

The man pleaded guilty to one count of contravening a temporary protection order and other unrelated charges.

He was fined $500.

• 
  

A Warwick man who sent a series of emotionally manipulative messages to his ex has been sentenced in court.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa said the 27-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, breached a domestic violence order taken out against him by contacting the woman via Facebook Messenger on the evening of November 21.

The Warwick court heard the man told his ex he had been thinking about her lately, saying “Kind of at the end of my line here,” and “Would just like to hear your voice before I go”.

“Obviously the context of that messaging, Your Honour, would indicate a threat of suicide, so it’s no doubt a breach in that regard,” Sergeant de Lissa said.

The self-represented Warwick man said he was in a “really dark place” at the time of the offending, acknowledging the contact was a lapse in judgment despite saying his ex had previously reached out to him.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess warned the man that it did not matter why he sent the messages or that there was “nothing malicious” about them, as the domestic violence order was clearly in place for a reason.

“You need to stop being selfish, if I can put it bluntly, and not think about what you want,” she said.

The man pleaded guilty to one count of contravening a domestic violence order.

He was fined $400 and no conviction was recorded.

• 
  

Being found at his then ex-partner’s house by police when a protection notice banned him from being near the property landed a Warwick man in court.

Police were called by a member of the public to a Warwick street on April 17, where they found a woman who had collapsed and appeared to be suffering anxiety after an argument with the 28-year-old man.

The court heard the pair had fought in the street and the man eventually walked away to stop it escalating further, returning to his ex’s house where he was discovered by officers investigating the woman’s medical episode.

Defence lawyer Clare Hine said the man tried to do the right thing by removing himself from the situation, which meant he had no idea the woman had collapsed until he was spoken to by police.

“She does have panic attacks and is medicated for anxiety,” Ms Hine said.

“(The argument) did not occur near the home, but when police went to interview him, he was at the residential address where she had invited him to come back and live with her.”

The man pleaded guilty to one count of contravening a police protection notice.

He was fined $300 and no conviction was recorded.