Disgraced ex-MP Craig Thomson charged with AVO breach taken out to protect ex-wife

Craig Thomson spent the night behind bars after police charged him with allegedly breaching an apprehended violence order taken out for the protection of ex-wife Zoe.

The messy divorce of disgraced former federal politician Craig Thomson and his ex-wife Zoe has taken another ugly turn, with the one-time MP spending Saturday night behind bars after being charged with harassing her.

Thomson, 57, was arrested on Saturday afternoon and is accused of breaching an apprehended violence order taken out by police last December for the protection of his ex-wife, after he allegedly sent a volley of abusive and threatening text messages to her.

The father-of-three and Ms Thomson called an end to their ten-year marriage in 2020, before selling their lavish family home at Wamberal for $3.35 million in June.

But on Saturday afternoon Thomson presented himself to Terrigal Police Station where he was charged with allegedly breaching the conditions of his AVO on three separate occasions in recent weeks.

Former Federal Labor Politician Craig Thomson in Terrigal last month. Picture: David Swift

Thomson leaves the Melbourne Magistrate court with then-wife Zoe Arnold back in 2013. Picture: AAP

“At 4.45pm on Saturday, January 22, a 57-year-old man was arrested at Terrigal Police Station,” a NSW Police spokesperson said.

“He was charged with three counts of contravene prohibition/restriction and AVO.”

After spending the night in the cells Thomson faced Newcastle Local Court on Sunday and was released from custody on conditional bail.

Police took out the AVO against Thomson late last year after he allegedly sent a volley of harassing emails and text messages to his ex-wife as they go through a divorce.

In November he failed to appear in court to defend the AVO in early November and it was granted in his absence for a period of two years.

The new domestic violence related allegations against Thomson are just the latest charges to land him before the courts, with the one-time Labor MP also facing charges of being the “primary facilitator of a multimillion-dollar migration fraud”.

Thomson leaving Gosford Local Court after being charged with using a carriage service to menace or harass on December 14 last year. Picture: Richard Noone

Thomson is facing 30 charges including 20 counts of providing false documents and false or misleading information relating to non-citizens, five counts of receiving a benefit in return for a sponsorship, two counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and two counts of dealing with the proceeds of crime.

The Australian Federal Police led the investigation and allege Thomson pocketed more than $2 million as a result of the syndicate.

Thomson’s departure from politics came after he failed to win back his seat of Dobell at the 2013 election and followed several highly publicised allegations, including wrongdoing while trying to get into office.

He was eventually convicted of theft over the use of his union credit card on everything from prostitutes to funding his 2007 electoral campaign and was fined $25,000.