Hospitality student choked unconscious during stranger’s terrifying assault

A hospitality student was walking home from a night out when she was stalked, dragged into a driveway by a man who had earlier offered her $1000 to sleep with him.

A stalker who dragged a hospitality student into a driveway and choked her until she blacked out had a concerning history of violence against women, a court has heard.

Aaron Michael Brain, 40, faced Brisbane District Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to assaulting the young woman as she walked home from a Bulimba bar in May 2019.

The court was told terrifying details of how Brain had followed the woman into Oxford 152 after she refused to go for a drink with him.

Brain then offered her $1000 to sleep with him, but when he was refused a second time he left the venue and waited for her on the street.

Judge Paul Smith described how the woman “felt as if someone was close to her” when she left the venue about 10pm.

Her fears were realised when she turned onto Wambool St and saw Brain “hunched over watching her” from a driveway.

The court heard how the student felt as if someone was watching her as she left the Bulimba bar.

“She gasped and you ran at her grabbing her around the neck in a chokehold, pulling her into the driveway,” Judge Smith said.

“She tried to fight but the more she moved, the harder you pressed into her throat with your forearm. She tried to grab onto the wall and blacked out.”

The court heard that when she came to, Brain tried to choke her a second time, but he fled to his car when she screamed.

A local resident contacted Triple-0 and Queensland Police were able to identify Brain from CCTV footage from the bar.

The court heard Brain was arrested the next day following a stand-off with police where he barricaded himself inside the function room at Hog’s Breath café.

Brain, of Cleveland, faced Brisbane District Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to stalking with violence, assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault and possessing dangerous drugs.

Prosecutor James Marxson said Brain had a history of resorting to violence with women when they did not comply with his requests.

In 2014, Brain was jailed after pleading guilty to stalking five young women and trying to lure them into his car near a Brisbane railway station.

Mr Marxson said the brazenness of his offending against the hospitality student was “particularly terrifying”.

“It was in a public place committed against a vulnerable victim walking on her own, and the offending on the night was protracted over about a half an hour period,” Mr Marxson said.

Barrister Chris Minnery said at the time of the assault Brain had taken “an enormous amount of speed” after first turning to drugs to cope with his traumatic childhood.

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Mr Minnery asked Judge Smith to suspend his client’s jail sentence because Brain had already served almost two years’ in pre-sentence custody.

But Judge Smith said the offending was too serious and protracted.

“In my view this is very serious offending, there’s a significant history,” Judge Smith said.

“I think the parole board should be the ones to determine whether you are safe for release into the community.”

Brain was sentenced to 4.5 years’ jail and will be eligible to apply for parole from today.