Sunshine Coast personal trainer Joshua Giffin pleads guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court
A personal trainer from the Sunshine Coast with a violent history of assaulting and choking a woman has faced court for threatening his ex-girlfriend’s new partner.
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A Sunshine Coast personal trainer has been released from custody after sending threatening messages to his ex-girlfriend’s new partner the same year he assaulted and choked a woman.
Joshua Colin Giffin, 33, of Nambour faced the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday, March 24 and pleaded guilty from the dock to offences including possessing dangerous drugs and using a carriage service to menace, harass, or cause offence.
The court heard one of the offences related to Giffin messaging the new partner of his ex-girlfriend via Instagram: “You have the f---ing audacity to call me your brother, tell me you love me … Y’all better hope I get sentenced to the top of seven years. Y’all stay safe.”
Later that night, he shared a photo to his public Instagram of him holding a black handgun overlaid by a message which named his victim and included an “adverse comment” near-identical to the one he sent via messenger.
The incidents took place in November last year, about three months before he was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court for choking and assaulting a woman causing her bodily harm.
He was charged with the other drug offences after police executed a search warrant at an address in Windsor and found a vial of testosterone, a packet containing 10 vials of androgen, more testosterone, and a Toshiba laptop.
Prosecutor Sergeant Martin Payne said the laptop was connected to the internet and used to purchase the illegal drugs.
The court heard Giffin was due to be released from custody on Friday in line with the sentence he was handed in the District Court last month.
His lawyer Rosalie McFarland said the offending before the Magistrates Court took place at a time when he was experiencing “heightened relationship distress” and had increased his use of both alcohol and drugs.
She said her client struggled with his mental health and had a “problematic” relationship with drugs, but had expressed remorse since committing the offences. Giffin was diagnosed with bipolar at 24 and borderline personality disorder at 26.
The court heard he hoped to reside with his sister – who waited hours for his sentence and sat by him in the courtroom – and return to his employment as a personal trainer upon his release.
Magistrate Julian Noud considered Giffin’s pleas of guilty and criminal history, as well as the seriousness of his actions, when deciding an appropriate penalty.
The 33-year-old received a head sentence of nine months’ imprisonment with immediate parole release. The 109 days he spent in presentence custody were declared time served under the sentence.
Giffin was also placed on a 12-month $1000 good behaviour bond and ordered to forfeit all relevant material. Convictions were recorded.
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