Joshua Shane Woods: police officer admits to assault, intimidation

A senior police constable pushed his partner over and used his full weight to pin her to the ground during a fight over a soiled nappy before threatening her with hundreds of calls and texts.

A senior NSW Police officer forced his partner to endure harrassment and intimidation including being pushed over and choked after an argument over a nappy.

Joshua Shane Woods, 33, faced Moss Vale Local Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to common assault, intimidation, and using a phone to harass his partner over the course of a year.

The Grasmere resident and his partner were high school sweethearts who have been in a relationship since 2005. Mr Woods joined the NSW police force in 2014 and is currently a senior constable who has been stationed at Fairfield and Camden.

Court documents reveal the extended harassment began on March 19, 2018, in Oakdale when the couple got into an argument about a soiled nappy over text that continued throughout the day.

Joshua Shane Woods is a senior constable with NSW Police (file photo). Picture: Lillian Watkins

When the victim returned home from work that night, it escalated into a physical altercation. Mr Woods grabbed the victim’s arms and used his leg to force her to the ground, causing the victim to fall heavily on the ground and hit her head on the lounge.

According to the court documents, Mr Woods used his full weight to pin the victim to the ground and choked her. While she was struggling, he made a derogatory comment and spat in her face.

The victim told the court it was a “degrading feeling” she wouldn’t ever forget.

While pinned, she bit his arm and was able to get to her feet.

Although the two stayed together, the relationship was tense and the victim asked for separation in June 2019.

The victim described a constant barrage of texts and calls demanding to know where she was and who she was with. On one occasion, the victim had decided to stay with a female friend out of fear when she received a phone call from Mr Woods during which he became eerily calm, according to court documents.

The court heard Joshua Shane Woods’ father was a police officer for nearly 38 years (file photo). Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

“If I find out you’re cheating, I’ll shoot you both in the head,” he said.

Police were able to obtain Woods’s phone records for a two-week period and discovered he had called the victim 611 times and sent her 66 texts.

In a powerful impact statement, the victim told the court of the devastating impact of the officer’s harassment.

“I became depressed and paranoid. I felt there was no escape,” she said.

“I was confused as to how someone who had told me they loved me could treat me that way.”

The victim said Woods’s continued harassment via texts and calling has given her anxiety about answering the phone, which has severely impacted her professional and personal life.

“I feel the mental suffering will never end,” she told the court.

Joshua Shane Woods appeared in Moss Vale Court on Tuesday. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

However, his lawyer argued the “harm was not substantial” and told the court Mr Woods was a person of good character who is unlikely to reoffend.

“There is an understanding of past behaviour and how it is not acceptable,” he said.

However, the court heard Woods has been charged with a domestic violence offence against his new partner, who is pregnant.

Mr Gallagher told the court he would be seeking an intensive corrections order that Woods could serve in the community.

Woods return to court later this month for sentencing.

Originally published as Joshua Shane Woods: police officer admits to assault, intimidation