Man in court after losing his house, his wife and his job

A Brisbane man who discovered his wife was cheating on him and had allegedly drained their savings to feed a gambling habit, has ended up in court charged with three breaches of a domestic violence order.

A Redlands man who taunted his ex-wife after discovering she had cheated on him and allegedly spent their life savings on gambling has been hauled before the courts.

But a magistrate has given him and his wife one last chance at reconciliation, for the sake of their two children and three grandchildren.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faced Cleveland Magistrates Court today charged with three breaches of a domestic violence order after he texted and emailed his wife following their split last year.

After initially chasing her to pay a share of rates and other bills, he sent a photo of a kennel and the woman’s new partner, in which he referred to the man as a “mutt’’.

The court heard the man’s troubles began after discovering his wife of 32 years had been having an affair.

A police prosecutor told the court the man then learned his wife had allegedly withdrawn about $150,000 from his bank account, took out three credit cards in his name and redrew about $220,000 on a home loan.

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As a result, the man lost the house he had been paying off for 18 years and had to quit a job of many years, in 2017, because of the mental anguish he faced.

The man also had to move in with friends from school and, although he had tried to find a job recently, had been unable to do so due to the coronavirus epidemic.

The man told the court, via telephone, that he had been taking ice but was now off drugs and had been working on his mental health.

Magistrate Deborah Vasta told the defendant that domestic violence orders were a very serious matter.

“If a court makes an order, we don’t hand them out like stickers,’’ Ms Vasta said.

“We put a lot of thought into DVOs. If someone continues to flout orders, victims end up with no faith in the system.’’

However, she took into account that there was no actual violence and the man’s early guilty plea to all charges.

She put him on six months’ probation, with no conviction recorded.

“You went too far when you sent out pictures of her new partner with a dog kennel (with words) saying ‘I’m a mutt’,’’ she said.

“Six men a day commit suicide, but you have not gone down that path of hopelessness even though you have faced significant challenges.’’

Ms Vasta also ordered the DVO be amended to allow the man to have contact with his ex-wife, if she consented in writing, noting they had married young and one day might wish to both attend weddings and other occasions celebrated by their children and grandchildren.