Warwick father-of-two’s ‘inappropriate’ trip to see kids in the middle of the night, contravenes DVO

A Warwick dad’s bizarre road trip in the middle of the night to visit his kids has landed him in front of the magistrate. See how it all unfolded.

A Warwick man has been fined after a late-night visit to see his kids saw him charged with contravening a DVO.

A Warwick man’s decision to “visit his kids” with a carload of people just before midnight has resulted with him ending up in court.

The man - who cannot be named for legal reasons - pleaded guilty to contravening a domestic violence order by visiting his children in a bizarre late-night road trip while they were asleep.

The Warwick-based 23-year-old made the trip on February 4 to Goondiwindi to “see his children with consent of the mother”, Warwick Magistrates Court was told on Wednesday.

Defence lawyer Sarah Campbell told the court the man “was in a relationship with the aggrieved in which they had two children together” before the relationship ended.

“Since they had been together, there’s been issues within the family, between the aggrieved and the man’s sisters, it’s a part of a larger issue in which the sisters are involved in,” Ms Campbell said.

Ms Campbell told the court that the man had a “positive attitude” in regards to moving forward with the woman and their children.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess told the man that 11.30pm, when the children were asleep, was “not an appropriate time to visit”.

The court was told the man and a “carload” of people arrived at the woman’s address, and she was in her bedroom as the man yelled out from outside that “he wanted to talk with the kids”.

Not wanting any drama, the court was told the woman allowed the man inside but requested the carload of people to leave.

The man then yelled something back at her, to which the woman told the man to come back tomorrow.

The man continually asked where the kids were and requested the woman came outside to talk.

The court was told the conversation turned into an argument relating to the family drama, which angered both parties, with the woman again telling the man to leave.

The man then yelled out again ”where are my kids” and ”I’ll be coming back” before being told the police were coming to the address.

The man then yelled “f--k this” before driving away.

Ms Sturgess told the man 11.30pm was not the time to be visiting the children, nor engaging in a shouting match while they’re asleep in bed.

“Whether or not you had a plan to visit the children, that is not an appropriate time to visit them, and it’s not the way to go about it,” Ms Sturgess said.

“Just turning up in the middle of the night and hoping to get a good reception is not the way to do it, that’s unhealthy.

“You have to comply with the order, there’s nothing wrong with seeing your children you just must do it in a more positive way.”

The man was met with a $600 fine with no convictions recorded.