’I’ve been through hell’: how a north Brisbane father-of-two’s act of love landed him behind bars
The man faced the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court for his 17th, 18th and 19th breach of the domestic violence protection order, this time for hugging his daughter and giving her presents.
Moreton
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A north Brisbane father-of-two has been sentenced to three months imprisonment at the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court for hugging his daughters at a little athletics carnival, dropping presents at their door, and asking their mother to keep her new boyfriend away from them.
Each act was a contravention of the man’s domestic violence protection order which states he is not allowed to speak with or be within 100 metres of his children’s mother.
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The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has “made a mockery of the court order”, consistently breaching it since it was issued on September 15, 2019.
He pleaded guilty to the 17th, 18th and 19th breaches that came before the court today.
The court heard the man attended his little girl’s athletics carnival in Bracken Ridge on November 2, where their mother observed him walk around the oval to say hello and hug his daughter, then walk back to his car.
His car was parked approximately 20 metres away from the woman, placing him in breach of the order for the 17th time.
The 18th breach occurred on October 5 when, after playing with his two daughters for 45 minutes at a playground in Fitzgibbon, the man approached the aggrieved and asked her to keep their daughters away from her new partner.
Police prosecutor sergeant Graham Turner said the man later sent several Facebook messages to the woman, in which he acknowledged his past problems with alcohol.
They included, “I’ve been through hell, I can’t believe you think this is jealousy.”
The 19th breach occurred after the woman cancelled a scheduled visit between the girls and their father at the McDonald’s at Virginia on October 26, saying it was because the man “kept bringing up things she didn’t want to talk about”.
The court heard the man became frustrated and sent her a number of further messages stating his concern for his daughters’ well being and saying he would drop their presents at the home while she was out.
The man’s lawyer said he committed the offences out of love for his children, but Magistrate Trevor Morgan said each offence served to intimidate the victim and displayed a clear contempt for court orders.
The man was sentenced to one month of imprisonment for each breach. He is eligible for parole immediately.