Craig Boland jailed after setting Highland Drycleaners and Mittagong home on fire

Two weeks after a Sydney builder warned he would burn down his ex-partner’s business to “get her attention”, he acted out on the threat. Now he has learnt his fate.

Craig Boland has pleaded guilty to setting fire to his ex's home and her business, a Southern Highlands dry cleaners.

A Sydney builder threatened to burn down his ex-girlfriend’s business to “get her attention” just two weeks before he set fire to her Southern Highlands shop and home has been jailed for at least two years.

Craig Boland, 47, fronted Goulburn District Court on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to two counts of damaging property by fire following two blazes at a Bowral business and a Mittagong home.

The victim, Lynda Alexander, had owned and operated Highlands Drycleaners at 417 Bong Bong St, Bowral for 17 years.

Boland and Ms Alexander had recently separated, but he believed they were on a “hiatus” and continued to contact her.

Police facts state about 8pm on October 1 the victim received a voice message from Boland, and while she kept the recording, she did not report it.

Mittagong RFS attended a fire at a business on Bong Bong St in Bowral on October 15.

“I’m gonna go and burn your business down is that gonna get your attention,” Boland said in the recording. “I’ll go to the f***ing shop right now. Answer me, you f***ing c***.”

Two weeks later, Boland set fire to her home and the business. The flames severely damaged both locations.

The court heard last week Ms Alexander wondered how Boland could “harbour such hatred” to make the threat and then deliver on it.

“Being a well-known figure in the community through my business and my charitable work, I still find it hard to be in public as people’s sympathy serves as a reminder,” she said. “I no longer have a home to live in and a business to sustain me.”

In sentencing submissions, defence barrister Sam Buckman said Boland was in a depressive state, suffered from significant symptoms of PTSD and attempted to take his own life after what happened.

Judge Jennifer Baly handed down her sentence on Tuesday at Goulburn District Court and Boland was jailed for four years with a non-parole period of two years.

He is first eligible for parole on May 14, 2025. Judge Baly applied a 25 per cent discount due to an early plea of guilty.

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