A foreign man sentenced after raping ex-wife, strangling his child

A Logan father has been jailed for more than eight years after a horror show down a major highway that ended as he choked his child while using them as a shield from police in “one of the worst cases” a judge had ever seen.

A man who used his child as a shield from police has been jailed. Picture: File

A Logan father who terrified his young children so much they wet themselves during a violent getaway from police has been sentenced to eight years jail for a “one of the worst” cases of its kind a judge has seen.

The man, 33 who cannot be named to protect the identify of his family, appeared in Beenleigh District Court on charges including: strangulation (domestic violence); common assault (domestic violence); dangerous operation of a vehicle; deprivation of liberty; breaking into a house; kidnapping, two counts of rape; sexual assault; wilful damage; and unlawful use of a vehicle by using violence.

The court heard the man, a tradesman, was raised by his grandparents and moved to Australia to get away from unlawful gangs, having started using drugs at eight years old.

The court heard on June 20, that the 33-year-old man had four children with his ex-wife.

Police prosecution said early in the relationship, the defendant started becoming violent and that in February 2019, after the relationship ended, things escalated.

Prosecutors told the court that in January 2019, the man had asked his ex-wife to visit his house as he was at work and had an electrician coming over.

The prosecutor said the ex-wife had agreed to help but was not met by tradespeople, instead the defendant who pushed her onto a bed, and removed her clothes while she resisted him.

“She (the complainant) stood there crying and swearing at him (the defendant) telling him to stop,” the prosecutor said.

After the complainant pleaded with the defendant for 20 minutes they went into the loungeroom, where the defendant placed a mattress on the ground.

“He told her to get onto it and … out of fear and safety … and she told him to just get it over and done with,” the police prosecutor told the court.

“Afterwards the complainant … asked if she could leave, but the defendant said, she couldn’t.

“She effectively and freely did not give consent for that and it is believed she was deprived of her liberty.”

She eventually escaped and hid behind bushes before neighbours found her.

Police arrested and released the defendant on watch-house bail on January 31, 2019, on conditions of no contact.

But 10 days later, he pushed the woman against a wall with his hands around her neck, yelling at her to drop rape charges.

The court heard the man then had the woman and their children go with him for a trip to a beach in Hastings Point, in northern New South Wales.

The man threatened the woman with a knife during the drive and also told him he would hurt himself, the court heard.

They stopped at a service station where the woman alerted her sister who called the police.

The defendant, woman and their children arrived home late that night to police officers awaiting their arrival.

The court heard police pointed a taser at the defendant, but he started driving into a police car to escape.

The court heard when he stepped out of the car he used his child as a barrier between himself and the police before making an escape with his other children still in the car.

The getaway triggered a police car and helicopter chase south along the M1, where the man swerved between four lanes of traffic and did a U-turn in the middle of the highway.

The court heard he then stopped and tried to steal a Loganholme driver’s car before police found the man and his children.

The defendant held one of his crying children in a neck restraint telling police, “do not come any closer or I will kill her” before he was arrested.

The court heard some of the children were so scared they had wet their pants.

The 33-year-old appeared before the court from custody, having served four years already.

The Judge Craig Chowdhury told the court it was one of the worst cases of its kind he had seen.

“Your lucky you are not charged with attempting to prevent the cause of justice anywhere,” Justice Chowdhury said.

“So I spent some time going through the facts to highlight the shear gravity of them.

“This is one of the worst cases I have seen of this type of conduct, you very lucky you didn’t harm the complainant and didn’t cause a more serious injury than you did.

“You are really lucky you didn’t kill anyone, you didn’t kill your children, you didn’t kill yourself, you didn’t kill an innocent person or the police officer for this dangerous driving.

“Our society … expects adults to behave as adults and to deal with the breakdown of a relationship properly.

“If someone doesn’t want to be with you – they don’t want to be with you – you just have to accept that.

“You had enough rational thought to use your youngest daughter as a hostage and a barrier.

“It is really a miracle the police were able to act as they did and you are very lucky they didn’t draw any weapons and use it on you in this situation.

“So you should give thanks that your still alive and your still here and your children are still alive.”

The man was sentenced to 8.5 years’ jail following the current indictment, with eligibility for parole from June 20.

He was also disqualified from driving for three years, and faces deportation back to his home land.